“Personality has the power to uplift, power to depress, power to curse, and power to bless.”

- Paul Harris

A study published in Psychological Science found that how individuals respond to daily stressors mediates the relationship between long-term physical health and personality.

This study was conducted by Kate A. Leger, Nicholas A. Turiano, William Bowling, Jessica L. Burris, and David M. Almeida,

Due to gaps in the literature regarding these variables and longitudinal associations, this study attempted to examine the role of negative reactivity to daily stressors as a pathway between personality and physical health outcomes.

Using various surveys, this study was conducted across a 20 year span, three waves of data, and 1176 participants.  

It was found that negative reactivity to daily stressors partially plays a role in personality and physical health outcomes. 

Higher levels of neuroticism and agreeableness at wave 1 predicted greater negative reactions to daily stressful experiences at wave 2. In turn, this predicted the development of chronic health conditions and functional limitations at wave 3. 

Higher levels of conscientiousness and openness at wave 1 predicted less negative reactions to daily stressful experiences at wave 2, which in turn, predicted better overall physical health at wave 3. Surprisingly, extraversion wasn’t found to be significantly related to any of the outcomes examined. 

These findings showcase how personality plays a role in one's physical health progression over time especially as determined by daily stressors. As such, the need for stress moderation strategies and disease prevention tools should be further addressed.