Association of Personality Traits With Elder Self-neglect in a Community-Dwelling Population

Objective: Elder self-neglect is an important public health issue. However, little is known about the association between personality traits and risk of elder self-neglect among community-dwelling populations. The objectives of this study are as follows: 1) to examine the association of personality traits with elder self-neglect and 2) to examine the association of personality traits with elder self-neglect severity. Methods: Population-based study conducted from 1993 to 2005 of community-dwelling older adults (N = 9,056) participating in the Chicago Health Aging Project (CHAP). Subsets of the CHAP participants (N = 1,820) were identified for suspected self-neglect by social services agency, which assessed the severity. Personality traits assessed included neuroticism, extraversion, rigidity, and information processing. Logistic and linear regressions were used to assess these associations. Results: In the bivariate analyses, personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, information processing, and rigidity) were significantly associated with increased risk of elder self-neglect. However, after adjusting for potential confounders, the above associations were no longer statistically significant. In addition, personality traits were not associated with increased risk of greater self-neglect severity. Furthermore, interaction term analyses of personality traits with health and psychosocial factors were not statistically significant with elder self-neglect outcomes. Conclusion: Neuroticism, extraversion, rigidity, and information processing were not associated with significantly increased risk of elder self-neglect after consideration of potential confounders. (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2011; 19: 743-751)