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Personality traits such as being conscientious, outgoing, and agreeable have long been linked to a longer life, while higher levels of emotional instability are associated with earlier death. But do changes in these traits over time influence longevity too? A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests the answer is: probably not. While stable personality traits were consistently associated with mortality risk, the researchers found little evidence that changes in personality during midlife and older adulthood significantly predict how long someone will live.
The idea that personality influences health and lifespan is not new. Past research has shown that people who are conscientious, extraverted, and agreeable tend to live longer, possibly due to healthier lifestyles, stronger social ties, and better stress management. Likewise, those with high levels of neuroticism—marked by frequent negative emotions—are more likely to die sooner. But while these links are well-established, researchers know far less about whether changes in personality matter for longevity.
Personality traits can shift over time, especially in midlife and old age. Some people become more conscientious or less neurotic, while others may go in the opposite direction. These shifts could reflect how well people adapt to life’s challenges, such as retirement, illness, or loss. Alternatively, changes in personality might signal underlying problems like poor health or social isolation. Either way, the researchers wanted to know: Does the direction or degree of personality change help predict who will live longer?
To answer this question, a large international team of researchers led by Emily Willroth analyzed data from 11 long-term studies that tracked middle-aged and older adults over many years. Altogether, the study included 32,348 participants ranging in age from about 47 to over 80 years at the start of the study. The studies spanned countries such as the United States, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Each participant completed personality questionnaires on at least two occasions, with some followed for as long as 43 years and assessed up to 11 times. These questionnaires measured the five major dimensions of personality: conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience. The researchers used these repeated assessments to model how each person’s traits changed over time.
To assess whether these personality traits—or changes in them—predicted mortality, the researchers used statistical models that estimated the likelihood of death based on both trait levels and changes, while adjusting for age, gender, and education. They also used national death records and other verified sources to track whether and when participants died.
The results reaffirmed what previous studies have shown: baseline personality traits matter. People who were more conscientious, agreeable, and extraverted tended to live longer, while those with higher levels of neuroticism were more likely to die sooner. These associations held even after accounting for demographic factors.
Specifically, each standard deviation increase in conscientiousness was associated with an 18% lower risk of death. Higher levels of agreeableness and extraversion were linked to 11% and 7% lower risks, respectively. In contrast, each standard deviation increase in neuroticism was linked to a 12% higher risk of death. These findings are consistent with the idea that people who are organized, responsible, emotionally stable, and socially engaged tend to maintain healthier habits and relationships, which may support longevity.
However, the story was different when it came to changes in personality traits over time. The researchers found very limited evidence that increases or decreases in these traits had any consistent impact on mortality risk. While a few isolated findings emerged—such as increases in neuroticism being linked to higher mortality risk in one sample, and increases in extraversion or openness linked to lower mortality in others—these effects did not replicate across studies.
Even when the researchers tested whether the combination of trait level and change (for example, being highly conscientious and becoming more so over time) made a difference, they found no reliable patterns. Most interactions between trait level and change were statistically insignificant.
These findings suggest that while who you are matters for your lifespan, how much you change may not. That is, stable personality traits like being dependable and emotionally steady seem to provide a consistent advantage when it comes to longevity. On the other hand, natural personality changes that occur during adulthood may not be strong enough or consistent enough to affect survival in a measurable way.
There are several possible explanations for these results. One is that many health behaviors are shaped early in life and remain relatively stable, so even if a person becomes more conscientious in later years, they might not change their habits enough to impact longevity. Another possibility is that personality changes may be responses to life events—like illness or bereavement—that themselves influence mortality. In this case, personality change might be a marker of vulnerability rather than a cause.
The timing and pace of personality change may also matter. In this study, personality was typically assessed every few years, which may not capture the full dynamics of how traits shift over time. More frequent assessments could reveal different patterns, especially if personality change unfolds unevenly or in response to short-term stressors.
The study is one of the largest and most comprehensive examinations of personality change and mortality to date. It draws from diverse populations, uses data collected over decades, and applies robust statistical techniques. Still, the authors acknowledge several limitations.
First, not all studies included the same personality traits or used the same measurement tools, which could introduce inconsistencies. Second, the number of times personality was assessed varied across samples, and for some participants, the follow-up period may not have been long enough for personality changes to influence mortality. Third, the researchers focused primarily on linear changes—steadily increasing or decreasing traits—without examining more complex patterns of change.
Future research could explore whether sudden or nonlinear shifts in personality are more predictive of health outcomes. It may also be worth investigating whether changes in specific combinations of traits—such as becoming both more neurotic and less conscientious—signal greater health risks. Another promising direction is to study how changes in behavior, social networks, or stress coping relate to personality shifts and mortality.
The study, “Associations of Personality Trait Level and Change With Mortality Risk in 11 Longitudinal Studies,” was authored by Emily C. Willroth, Emorie Beck, Tomiko B. Yoneda, Christopher R. Beam, Ian J. Deary, Johanna Drewelies, Denis Gerstorf, Martijn Huisman, Mindy J. Katz, Richard B. Lipton, Graciela Muniz Tererra, Nancy L. Pedersen, Chandra A. Reynolds, Avron Spiro III, Nicholas A. Turiano, Sherry Willis, Daniel K. Mroczek, and Eileen K. Graham.
