Neuroticism and Quality of Life: Testing for Mediated Effects of Anxiety in Older Adults without Cognitive Impairment

Plasticity has been related to some compensatory behavioral changes in aging that might occur, in many fields, personality included. Literature also supports its linked with quality of life in late life. However, the question of whether personality might affect symptomatology in the elderly, and its inherent relation to quality of life, has been the topic of debate. The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of variables such as anxiety on personality and the quality of life in the elderly without cognitive impairment. A sample of 106 elderly participants (cognitive healthy and aged from 60 to 91 years old) was selected. Variables such as personality, anxiety and quality of life were measured through the Personality Factorial Battery (PFB), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the World Health Organization (WHOQOL)-BREF and the WHOQOL-OLD questionnaire. The anxiety symptomology was identified as mediating role of the relation between personality and quality of life in elderly persons, intensifying this relationship. The others personality's factors did not present statistical significance. Anxiety mediates the effect of neuroticism personality on quality of life in the elderly without cognitive impairment. This might suggest that, even if studies claim invariance of neuroticism in late life, its effect on quality of life might be susceptible to variables such anxiety.