Personality traits and biological aging: the mediating role of coping behavior.
4 affiliations
- 1School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
- 2Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China.
- 3Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
- 4School of Population and Health, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.
Abstract
Background
Evidence linking Big Five personality traits to clinical biomarker-based PhenoAge acceleration remains limited, and the behavioral pathways underlying these associations are not well understood.Objective
This study examined the associations between Big Five personality traits and PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAA), tested health-related coping behavior as a statistical mediator, and explored differences across genetic risk strata.Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 119,250 European-ancestry participants from the UK Biobank. PhenoAA was derived from clinical biomarker-based PhenoAge after adjusting for chronological age. Multivariable linear regression, mediation analysis, inverse-probability-weighted sensitivity analysis, and exploratory analyses stratified by a genetic risk score (GRS) based on 29 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were performed.Results
Neuroticism was positively associated with PhenoAA (β = 0.038, p < 0.001). Extraversion (β = -0.301, p < 0.001), conscientiousness (β = -0.314, p < 0.001), and agreeableness (β = -0.037, p < 0.01) were inversely associated with PhenoAA, while openness was not significant (β = -0.023, p > 0.05). Coping behavior statistically mediated the associations for neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, accounting for 15.4, 19.5, 12.3, and 28.2% of the total associations, respectively. Weighted sensitivity analyses showed similar patterns. In GRS-stratified analyses, neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness showed broadly consistent associations across low- and high-GRS groups. Agreeableness was inversely associated with PhenoAA only in the high-GRS group. Interaction tests did not provide evidence of genetic effect modification.Conclusion
Big Five personality traits were associated with PhenoAA, and coping behavior partly accounted for several of these associations. These findings support a biopsychosocial view of biological aging, but they should be interpreted as associations rather than causal relationships.
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BibTeX
@article{peng2026personality,
title = {{Personality traits and biological aging: the mediating role of coping behavior.}},
author = {Shirui Peng and Zixuan Li and Tao Huang and Hailun Liang},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1876764},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909058},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Personality traits and biological aging: the mediating role of coping behavior.
AU - Shirui Peng
AU - Zixuan Li
AU - Tao Huang
AU - Hailun Liang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1876764
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909058
AB - Background Evidence linking Big Five personality traits to clinical biomarker-based PhenoAge acceleration remains limited, and the behavioral pathways underlying these associations are not well understood.Objective This study examined the associations between Big Five personality traits and PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAA), tested health-related coping behavior as a statistical mediator, and explored differences across genetic risk strata.Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 119,250 European-ancestry participants from the UK Biobank. PhenoAA was derived from clinical biomarker-based PhenoAge after adjusting for chronological age. Multivariable linear regression, mediation analysis, inverse-probability-weighted sensitivity analysis, and exploratory analyses stratified by a genetic risk score (GRS) based on 29 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were performed.Results Neuroticism was positively associated with PhenoAA (β = 0.038, p < 0.001). Extraversion (β = -0.301, p < 0.001), conscientiousness (β = -0.314, p < 0.001), and agreeableness (β = -0.037, p < 0.01) were inversely associated with PhenoAA, while openness was not significant (β = -0.023, p > 0.05). Coping behavior statistically mediated the associations for neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, accounting for 15.4, 19.5, 12.3, and 28.2% of the total associations, respectively. Weighted sensitivity analyses showed similar patterns. In GRS-stratified analyses, neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness showed broadly consistent associations across low- and high-GRS groups. Agreeableness was inversely associated with PhenoAA only in the high-GRS group. Interaction tests did not provide evidence of genetic effect modification.Conclusion Big Five personality traits were associated with PhenoAA, and coping behavior partly accounted for several of these associations. These findings support a biopsychosocial view of biological aging, but they should be interpreted as associations rather than causal relationships.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -