Throw Your Heart into it, and the Rest Will Follow!

LESLIE R MARTIN, PhD

P r o f e s s o r o f P u b l i c H e a l t h ,

L o m a L i n d a U n i v e r s i t y

R e s e a r c h P r o f e s s o r ,

U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , R i v e r s i d e

9 T H A N N U A L A R T & S C I E N C E O F A G I N G C O N F E R E N C E – F E B R U A R Y 1 4 , 2 0 1 4

OUR EXTENSION OF TERMAN’S LIFE CYCLE STUDY

Terman: Examined life paths of bright children; not health-focused

Our Study: Person-situation, life-span development patterns and health/ longevity outcomes

TERMAN LIFE CYCLE PARTICIPANTS

Famous participants include Jess Oppenheimer, the creator of the I Love Lucy show and Ancel Keys, creator of the military K-Ration.

Photos: (1) LUCYlibrary.com; (2) strangemilitary.com

IN RESPONSE TO CLEVER “TERMITES”

We decided to call ourselves:

THE TERMAN-ATORS

We dubbed Howard “Chief Termanator”

You can see the resemblance…

Photos: (1) MovieNetwork DBIl; (2) Miriam Schustack

TERMINATOR TERMANATOR

Photos: (1) MovieNetwork DBIl; (2) Miriam Schustack

Sorry, but if you eat lots of yoghurt and smile every day, you may still die!

Josephine Tesauro (left), active and healthy, with her identical twin sister who is incontinent, has had a hip replacement, has a degenerative disorder that destroyed her vision, and has dementia. (NY Times, 2006)

LIMITS OF CENTENARIAN STUDIES & “IT’S ALL IN THE GENES!”

1937

SOME COMMON PROBLEMS

Short-term studies and follow-upsFailure to consider all outcomes (all-cause dilemma)

Use of wellness predictors (e.g., lowered cholesterol,

weight loss, immune changes, lower blood sugar,

increased exercise) as outcomes.

These problems are due to lack of comprehensive models

A MORE COMPREHENSIVE MODEL…

Multi-Construct Life-span Model:Childhood, adulthood, old age—With valid outcomes

Adult Personality

ChildPersonality

Functioning 1922

Functioning 1940

Functioning 1960

Healthy Aging

Longevity

Years lived

Cause of Death

Physical Health Subjective

well-being

Cognitive Function

Social Competence

Productivity

Social Support

Social Support

Martial Status

Marital Status

SWB

SWB

Health

Health

Phys Activity

Phys Activity

Phys ActivityHealth

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▲

▲

▲

▲

▲

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A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL & LONGITUDINAL DESIGN

Personality

Health & Illness

Health Behaviors

Physiological Reactivity

Biology/ Genetics

Social Interactions

A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL & LONGITUDINAL DESIGN

Personality

Health & Illness

Health Behaviors

Physiological Reactivity

Biology/ Genetics

Social Interactions

PATHWAYS/ MECHANISMS: HOMEOSTASIS

PersonalityDisruption in Homeostasis(immune system, etc.)

Poor Health

Photo: (1) biologicnr.com

PATHWAYS/ MECHANISMS: UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS

PersonalityUnhealthy Behaviors Poor Health

Photo: (1) blogs.independent.co.uk

PATHWAYS/ MECHANISMS(UNDERLYING 3RD VARIABLE)

Early Biology

Personality

Health and Longevity

Photo: (1) earlyyearsparenting.wordpress.com

PATHWAYS: SELECT OR ELICIT UNHEALTHY SITUATIONS

Personality Unhealthy Environments Poor Health

Photo: (1) incaseimgone.com

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

Also called Lack of ImpulsivityChildhood: Ratings (parent & teacher) of

prudence, freedom from vanity, conscientiousness

Adulthood: Self-report personality scales--persistent, careful, etc.

Validated new indexes w/ measurement invariance in contemporary sample and with rational ratings

CAN CONSCIENTIOUSNESS PREDICT MORTALITY RISK? YES!

• Child: InterQ rh(1,252) = 0.81, p<.001

• Adult: InterQ rh(1,071) = 0.82, p<.001

M A R T I N , F R I E D M A N , & S C H W A R T Z ( 2 0 0 7 ) . P E R S O N A L I T Y A N D M O R T A L I T Y R I S K A C R O S S T H E L I F E S P A N : T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F C O N S C I E N T I O U S N E S S A S A B I O P S Y C H O S O C I A L A T T R I B U T E . H E A L T H P S Y C H O L O G Y , 2 6 , 4 2 8 - 3 6 .P H O T O S : ( 1 ) I M A G E N E T . C O M ; ( 2 ) O P E N D O T . C O M ; ( 3 ) G O N T H I N K . C O M ; ( 4 ) S P O R T S M E D I A . A C C . N E T

Conscientiousness & Survival

Percent Alive vs. Terminated by Age 70

High Adult Conscientiousness Low Adult Conscientiousness

Alive

Dead

THE MORE CONSCIENTIOUSNESS, THE BETTER!

Estimated probability of a Terman participant's dying (1950-2000) by agiven age, based on conscientiousness at two time points

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

0.90

40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90

Age

Pro

ba

bili

ty o

f D

ea

th

Consistent Conscientiousness Scores

Inconsistent Conscientiousness Scores Low-High High-Low

Low-Low High-High

Probability of death based on conscientiousness at two time points

PATHWAYS/ MECHANISMS: UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS

PersonalityUnhealthy Behaviors Poor Health

Photo: (1) blogs.independent.co.uk; (2) healthytravelblog.com

HEALTHY TRAJECTORIES

Photo: (1) theweek.com; (2) hearthside-homeinstead.com; (3) lifescience.com; (4) theguardian.com; (5) news.nationalpost.com

CHEERFULNESS, OPTIMISM, SENSE OF HUMOR

Optimism, cheerfulness, positive thinking… qualities that promote good health, right?

Not always!

Cheerfulness/optimism and sense of humor ( α = .52) rated by parents/teachers in 1922 rh(1,178) = 1.22, p<.01

Why?

F R I E D M A N , T U C K E R , T O M L I N S O N - K E A S E Y , S C H W A R T Z , W I N G A R D , & C R I Q U I ( 1 9 9 3 ) . D O E S C H I L D H O O D P E R S O N A L I T Y P R E D I C T L O N G E V I T Y ? J O U R N A L O F P E R S O N A L I T Y A N D S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y , 6 5 , 1 7 6 - 1 8 5 .

M A R T I N , F R I E D M A N , T U C K E R , T O M L I N S O N - K E A S E Y , C R I Q U I , & S C H W A R T Z ( 2 0 0 2 ) . A L I F E C O U R S E P E R S P E C T I V E O N C H I L D H O O D C H E E R F U L N E S S A N D I T S R E L A T I O N T O M O R T A L I T Y R I S K . P E R S O N A L I T Y A N D S O C I A L P S Y C H O L O G Y B U L L E T I N , 2 8 , 1 1 5 5 - 1 1 6 5 .

P H O T O S : B Y L E S L I E M A R T I N , W I T H P E R M I S S I O N

PATHWAYS/ MECHANISMS: UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS

PersonalityUnhealthy Behaviors Poor Health

Photo: (1) blogs.independent.co.uk; (2) texasauto.com

PATHWAYS: SELECT OR ELICIT UNHEALTHY SITUATIONS

Personality Unhealthy Environments Poor Health

Photo: (1) incaseimgone.com; (2) iowabiz.com

COMMON VIEW OF STRESS AND ILLNESS

STRESS

Immune Suppression or

Cardiovascular Reactivity

OrInflammation

DISEASE(cancer, heart

disease,premature mortality)

COMMON ADVICE

Relax, Chill OutDon’t WorryDon’t Work Too HardCheer Up, Party, LaughBe ExtravertedRetire & Play Golf

STRESS

Immune Suppression or

Cardiovascular Reactivity

DISEASE(cancer, heart

disease,premature mortality)

BAD COMMON ADVICE

Relax, Chill OutDon’t WorryDon’t Work Too HardCheer Up, Party,

LaughBe ExtravertedRetire, Play Golf

STRESS

Immune Suppression or

Cardiovascular Reactivity

DISEASE(cancer, heart

disease,Premature Mortality)

SHELLEY SMITH MYDANS

Photos: (1) portrait: photobucket.com; (2)interview: Carl Mydans/Life Magazine; (3) book jacket: pinoyhistory.com; (4) couple: corbis.co.in

NORRIS BRADBURY

Photos: (1) portrait: wikipedia.com; (2) museum: wikipedia; (3, 4) “Gadget” & Trinity test: Life Photo Archive

EDWARD DMYTRYK

Photos: (1) portrait: Spartacus Educational; (2) books: Amazon.com; (3) movie: IMDb internet movie database

COUNTERINTUITIVE FINDINGS

Hard work, if it is meaningful, is actually good for you!

So, don’t just retire and play golf! It’s important to have something to throw your heart into.

A bit of worrying is not as bad as we often think…

…and if you’re a man, it may help you live longer!

Photos: (1) businesspundit.com; (2) 4-men.org; (3) sabp.nhs.uk

Men low on C and N die soonest; women high on C low on N live longest

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

Feeling Connected / Cared For

Photos: (1) couples: iStockphoto/Yuri_Arcurs, miamiurbanleague.org; (2) swim: 1dentalhealthblog.wordpress.com; (3) woods: quiltethnic.com; (4) family: homesforarmy.com

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

Feeling Connected / Cared For

Number of interactions

Photos: (1) couples: iStockphoto/Yuri_Arcurs, miamiurbanleague.org; (2) swim: 1dentalhealthblog.wordpress.com; (3) woods: quiltethnic.com; (4) family: homesforarmy.com

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

Feeling Connected / Cared For

Number of interactions

Helping Others

Photos: (1) couples: iStockphoto/Yuri_Arcurs, miamiurbanleague.org; (2) swim: 1dentalhealthblog.wordpress.com; (3) woods: quiltethnic.com; (4) family: homesforarmy.com

MARATHONLESSNESS IS NOT A DISEASE!

Photos: (1) idealbite.com; (2) escapetoyoga.com; (3) thehomegarden.com; (4) streetsblog.net

THROWING YOUR HEART INTO IT…Live a purposeful, conscientious lifeFind meaning in work, experiencesWork hard at something you care aboutWhen you retire, find another passion

THROWING YOUR HEART INTO IT…Live a purposeful, conscientious lifeFind meaning in work, experiencesWork hard at something you care aboutWhen you retire, find another passion

Strengthen social tiesEngage with family, friends, co-workersConnect in ways that help others

THROWING YOUR HEART INTO IT…Live a purposeful, conscientious lifeFind meaning in work, experiencesWork hard at something you care aboutWhen you retire, find another passion

Strengthen social tiesEngage with family, friends, co-workersConnect in ways that help others

A bit of worrying is okPrompts better planning, health behaviors

The Terminationof this talk

Our research is supported by the National Institute on Aging

[which does not necessarily endorse a word]

NIH / NIAAG08825 (H. Friedman, PI)AG15188 (L. Martin, PI)AG027001 (C. Reynolds, PI)

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