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Conscientiousness is associated with health, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. To explore the role that stress might play, this study examined whether conscientiousness was associated with exposure and reactivity to life stress. This study followed 133 adolescent women every 6 months for 2.5 years. Participants completed a baseline measure of conscientiousness, and at each visit underwent a structured interview to catalogue episodic and chronic stress and had blood drawn to assess inflammatory processes. Participants higher in conscientiousness experienced fewer self-dependent episodic stressors and less academic and interpersonal chronic stress throughout the study. However, at times when they experienced higher levels of chronic interpersonal stress, they became more resistant to glucocorticoids. Higher levels of conscientiousness may protect adolescent women from exposure to certain stressors. However, when stress occurs, highly conscientious individuals may become more resistant to glucocorticoids, increasing their risk for processes that influence inflammatory conditions. Keywords Conscientiousness * Health * Inflammation * Personality * Stress, Introduction Mounting evidence suggests that personality is an important determinant of life outcomes, with an influence similar in magnitude to cognitive ability and socioeconomic status (Roberts et al., 2007). For [...]

This study tested predictions based on continuity and activity theories, examining effects of continuity and change in activity parameters on positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Retired men and women (N = 368) completed measures of everyday activities and affect, repeating the measures after 2 years. Continuity of activity parameters and affect was dominant, although number of activities decreased and ability in activities and NA increased. Changes in activity predicted changes in affect across time. Increased activity frequency, ability, ease, and future intentions predicted higher PA, and increased ability and ease in activity predicted lower NA. Maintaining same levels in activity parameters usually resulted in maintained PA. The results were interpreted as providing some support for both theories. Key Words: Activity--Continuity--Positive and negative affect. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbp079.

Propositions derived from evolutionary biology and personality psychology suggest that depressive symptoms may serve adaptive functions by enabling people to adjust to unattainable goals, which in turn promotes quality of life. The authors tested this hypothesis in a longitudinal study of adolescent girls involving 4 waves of data collected over approximately 19 months. The authors expected that high baseline levels of depressive symptoms would facilitate the development of adolescents' goal adjustment capacities (i.e., goal disengagement capacities and goal reengagement capacities). In addition, the authors expected that improvements in goal adjustment capacities over time would presage lower levels of subsequent depressive symptoms. Data from the first 3 waves produced results demonstrating that baseline levels of depressive symptoms predicted an increase in goal disengagement capacities over time but not in goal reengagement capacities. Moreover, increases in goal disengagement capacities predicted a reduction in subsequent depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that depressive symptomatology may serve adaptive functions by facilitating the development of goal disengagement capacities in adolescence. Keywords: depressive symptoms, self-regulation, goal disengagement

Three studies examined associations between goal disengagement and goal reengagement tendencies and indicators of physical health (e.g., health problems, cortisol rhythms, sleep efficiency). Based on research showing that goal adjustment tendencies are associated with subjective well-being, the authors predicted that people who are better able to disengage from unattainable goals and reengage with alternative goals also may experience better physical health. Across the three studies, the findings demonstrate that the ability to disengage from unattainable goals is associated with better self-reported health and more normative patterns of diurnal cortisol secretion. Goal reengagement, by contrast, was unrelated to indicators of physical health but buffered some of the adverse effects of difficulty with goal disengagement. The results also indicate that subjective well-being can mediate the associations between goal disengagement tendencies and physical health. Keywords: goal disengagement; goal reengagement; self-regulation; subjective well-being; physical health

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00426.x Byline: Heather N. Rasmussen (1), Carsten Wrosch (2), Michael F. Scheier (3), Charles S. Carver (4) Abstract: ABSTRACT This article discusses how self-regulatory models can be used to understand people's response to health threats. The article begins with a general discussion of the principles and assumptions of self-regulatory models of behavior. Two distinct lines of research are then presented addressing two important processes of adaptive self-regulation. First, we provide a brief overview of the literature on optimism and adjustment to chronic disease and other health outcomes. Second, we present an overview of the process of disengagement from unattainable goals, focusing on recent research. We close by making recommendations for future research. Author Affiliation: (1)University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University (2)Concordia University (3)Carnegie Mellon University (4)University of Miami Article note: Correspondence concerning this article may be sent to: Heather N. Rasmussen, Institute for Educational Research & Public Policy, 1122 West Campus Road, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045. E-mail: heather_rasmussen@yahoo.com.

Two studies were conducted to examine the association between life regrets and indicators of quality of life across the adult life span. The findings demonstrated that older adults perceived reduced opportunities to undo consequences of their regrets and that regret intensity reduced quality of life only among older adults.

Three studies examined associations between goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and subjective well-being. In Study 1, 115 undergraduates reported on the extent to which they were able to abandon unattainable goals and reengage their efforts in alternative goals. Study 2 examined the importance of goal disengagement and goal reengagement in groups of young adults and older adults (N = 120). In Study 3, a sample of parents of children with cancer and parents of medically healthy children was examined (N = 45). The findings confirmed that goal disengagement and goal reengagement can be associated with ratings of high subjective well-being. In addition, the results showed that goal disengagement and goal reengagement can have interactive effects on subjective well-being. The importance of the findings for effective self-regulation and successful development are discussed. Keywords: self-regulation; goal adjustment; disengagement; goals; well-being

This study examined whether self-compassion could benefit daily physical symptoms and chronic illness in early and advanced old age. The hypotheses were evaluated in a 4-year longitudinal study of 264 older adults. Results showed that self-compassion predicted lower levels of daily physical symptoms across the study period in advanced, but not early, old age (T-ratio = −1.93, p = 0.05). In addition, self-compassion was associated with fewer increases in chronic illness in advanced, but not early, old age (T-ratio = − 2.45, p < 0.02). The results of this study suggest that self-compassion may be particularly adaptive towards the end of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research demonstrates that in women at different ages and with or without children the developmental-cycle regulates the 'biological clock' for childbearing. Subjects who do not achieve the goal within the developmental deadline are better off in resorting to goal disengagement and self-protection.