The world’s oldest person, Maria de Jesus from Portugal, died last Friday aged 115, prompting renewed speculation that hard work and self discipline (Maria worked on a farm all her life), is the key to a long and healthy life, as confirmed by US researchers who last year found that traits associated with conscientiousness, like persistence, industriousness, being organized and disciplined, were linked to longevity and health.
Howard Friedman and Margaret Kern from the University of California pooled and re-analyzed the results of 20 psychological studies and concluded that conscientious people are likely to live up to four years longer than people who are more impulsive and less disciplined.
People who are achievement-oriented and self-disciplined are not only more likely to live longer, they tend to be happier and have more stable lives, they said.
Other studies have shown that higher levels of conscientiousness are associated with greater health protection, so the authors did a meta-analysis of the link between conscientiousness-related traits and longevity. They used a statistical tool called “random effects analysis” and treated the results of 20 independent studies as if they had come from one large one.
They also used “fixed effects analysis” to examine individual traits within conscientiousness, and to find out which factors make a difference to the links between conscientiousness and longevity.
The results showed that higher levels of conscientiousness were significantly and positively linked to longevity, with the strongest links being for two facets of conscientiousness: achievement (this includes persistence and industriousness), and order (being organized and disciplined).
Friedman and Kern concluded that:
“Results strongly support the importance of conscientiousness-related traits to health across the life span. Future research and interventions should consider how individual differences in conscientiousness may cause and be shaped by health-relevant biopsychosocial events across many years.”
According to the Daily Mail, Friedman told the press that:
“Not only do conscientious individuals have better health habits and less risk-taking, but they also live in healthier environments, with stable jobs and solid relationships.”
Friedman also said there was evidence that people can become more conscientious, it’s not fixed at the start of their lives, they can develop it, “especially as they enter stable jobs or good marriages,” he said.
Also, being conscientious does not mean being boring or dull, said Friedman.
A member of Maria de Jesus’ family told the Lusa news agency that Maria died on the way to hospital, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
Maria was born in 1893, in a poor area in central Portugal. She started work at 12 years old on a farm. She never learned to read or write and never went to school. She got married and raised 6 children. She was never ill and never took any medication, according to her daughter, Maria Madalena.
According to the Los Angeles based Gerontology Research Group, an American woman, Gertrude Baines, who was born on April 6, 1894, is now the world’s oldest person.
“Do conscientious individuals live longer? A quantitative review.”
Kern, Margaret L.; Friedman, Howard S.
Health Psychology. Vol 27(5), Sep 2008, 505-512.
Click here for article on Maria de Jesus (Sydney Morning Herald).
Sources: Journal article, Sydney Morning Herald.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD