ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2024
Longitudinal associations among the Big Five personality traits and healthcare utilization in the U.S.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Personality and mortality risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal data.Journal of personality and social psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Patient-Caregiver Dyads & End-of-Life Care: Caregiver Personality Disrupts Gender-Based Norms.Journal of pain and symptom management · 2024Trial
- Association between personality traits, dental caries, and oral health-related behaviors among underserved Egyptian adults: a cross-sectional study.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Social Trust Profile Transitions and Health-Seeking Behavior: A Latent Transition Analysis of Three-Wave Panel Data from China.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Personality Traits and Social Isolation in Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- The Big Five Personality Traits and Self-Management in Chronic Disease: A Scoping Review of Mediating Pathways.Psychology research and behavior management · 2026Review
- Personality and epigenetic aging: A multi-cohort and multi-clock study.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
- Status and influencing factors of OTC medicine use for self-medication in cold and cough: a cross-sectional survey in Japan.BMC public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveOne critical component of individual and public health is healthcare utilization, or the extent to which individuals have routine check-ups, schedule treatments, or use emergency services. However, we know little about who uses healthcare services and what types, the conditions that exacerbate utilization, or the factors that explain why people seek out services. The present study fills these gaps in the literature by investigating the role of personality factors in predicting various forms of healthcare utilization, how these associations vary by age, socioeconomic resources, and chronic conditions, as well as one potential psychological mediating mechanism (i.e., sense of control).
methodsWe use data from a large longitudinal sample of Americans (N = 7108), with three assessments spanning 20 years. Participants reported on their Big Five personality traits using the Midlife Development Inventory, healthcare utilization across three domains (routine visits, scheduled treatment, urgent care), age, income, insurance, chronic conditions, and sense of control.
resultsMultilevel models showed that people who were more agreeable and neurotic tended to use more healthcare services. Moreover, on occasions when people were more extraverted and open, they tended to use more healthcare services. There were several nuances in personality-healthcare utilization associations depending on the type of healthcare service, age, and socioeconomic resources. Longitudinal mediation analyses demonstrated sense of control as one mechanism linking personality traits to healthcare utilization in the U.S.
conclusionsWe discuss the theoretical and practical implications of interactions between individuals and structural systems for promoting the health of aging U.S. Americans.
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Registered trials
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