Prenatal and Early Life Antecedents of Personality: An Intergenerational Lifespan Approach

项目摘要。 本研究从跨代的视角考察特质心理学的发展。 功能正常。尽职尽责、神经质和衰老之间的联系是有据可查的。 相关结果：责任心得分较高、神经质得分较低的人风险较低 阿尔茨海默氏症和更长的寿命。这些特征和更好的健康之间的联系开始了 在生命的早期，并在一生中持续存在。促进更健康的性状发育的早期干预将导致 到健康和福祉的广泛改善，以及最终更好的老龄化结果。然而，人们对此知之甚少。 这些特征的早期环境起源将是有希望的干预目标。同样， 关于生物因素如何影响人的一生中的特征发展，我们知之甚少。这个 目前的研究汇集了三项对特征良好的队列的既定纵向研究，以确定 胎儿期和儿童期环境因素(广义解释)有助于儿童的发育 人格，这些联系的生物媒介，以及产前/童年之间的动态 影响认知发展和衰老的因素和个性对健康的影响 在整个生命周期内发挥作用。这三组人一起涵盖了从受孕到成年的整个过程： 对澳大利亚儿童的纵向研究涵盖怀孕到12岁，雅芳纵向研究 父母和孩子涵盖怀孕到成年，以及社区的健康老龄化 整个生命周期的多样性涵盖了从中年到老年。这项研究涉及三个具体的 目的：(1)确定母亲的气质和个性的产前行为和临床先兆 并测试生物标记作为产前因素影响性状的一种机制 心理功能，(2)确定儿童社区特质心理功能的前置因素 在儿童、青春期和成年期，并测试生物标记作为一种机制，通过 邻里因素对特质心理功能的影响；(3)测试人格特质是否 调节和/或调节产前/童年环境与认知功能之间的关系 在整个生命周期内。这项研究的结果将有助于对大多数性状的起源有新的认识 与健康老龄化相关，并提出了有希望的新干预目标。

Project Summary. This research takes an intergenerational lifespan perspective to the development of trait psychological functioning. There are well-documented connections between Conscientiousness and Neuroticism and aging- related outcomes: Individuals who score higher in Conscientiousness and lower in Neuroticism have lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and greater longevity. The association between these traits and better health begins early in life and persist across the lifespan. Early interventions to promote healthier trait development will lead to broad improvements in health and well-being and ultimately better aging outcomes. Yet, little is known about the early environmental origins of these traits that would be promising targets of intervention. Likewise, relatively little is known about how biological factors contribute to trait development across the lifespan. The present research brings together three established longitudinal studies of well-characterized cohorts to identify prenatal and childhood environmental factors (broadly construed) that contribute to the development of personality, the biological mediators of these associations, and the dynamics between prenatal/childhood factors and personality on a consequential health outcome – the development and aging of cognitive functioning across the lifespan. Together, these three cohorts cover conception through older adulthood: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children covers pregnancy through age 12, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children covers pregnancy through young adulthood, and the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span covers middle through older adulthood. This research addresses three specific aims: (1) To identify maternal prenatal behavioral and clinical antecedents of temperament and personality traits and to test biological markers as one mechanism through which prenatal factors contribute to trait psychological functioning, (2) To identify childhood neighborhood antecedents of trait psychological functioning in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood and to test biological markers as one mechanism through which neighborhood factors contribute to trait psychological functioning, and (3) To test whether personality traits mediate and/or moderate the relation between the prenatal/childhood environment and cognitive functioning across the lifespan. The outcomes of this research will lead to new knowledge on the origins of the traits most relevant for healthy aging and suggest promising new targets for intervention.