The Moderating Effect of Personality Type on the Relationship Between Leisure Activity and Executive Control in Older Adults

Abstract

We examined the moderating effect of personality on the association between leisure activities and executive control in healthy community-dwelling older adults. We found two distinct personality typologies: individuals with a resilient personality were characterized by emotional stability and self-confidence; whereas, those who resembled an overcontrolled personality tended to be introverted but also low on neuroticism. Resilient individuals were more likely than overcontrolled individuals to demonstrate higher executive function and attention as a result of participation in mental activities. These results suggest that personality might be important to include in studies that test the efficacy of activity interventions for improving cognition.

KEYWORDS:

• personality
• leisure activity
• cognition

Additional information

Funding

Data collection of the present project was supported by Sigma Theta Tau International Small Grants to F. Lin. Article preparation was supported by the National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence Claire M. Fagin Fellow Award Program to N. Hill and the University of Rochester CTSA award number KL2 TR000095 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health to F. Lin. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.