Personality and frailty: Evidence from four samples

• Personality is related to frailty in four samples of older adults.
• High neuroticism is associated with worsening frailty over an 8-year period.
• Frailty is related to maladaptive personality trajectories.
• Frailty could explain the relation between personality and health in old age.

Frailty is a prevalent geriatric syndrome. Little is known about the psychological factors associated with this syndrome. Based on four large samples of older adults aged from 65 to 104 years old, the present study examined whether personality traits are related to frailty. High neuroticism, low conscientiousness, low extraversion, low openness and low agreeableness were related to higher frailty across samples. Longitudinal analysis conducted in one sample revealed that high neuroticism was associated with worsening frailty over an 8-year period. Higher frailty at baseline and over time was related to maladaptive personality changes. This study extends existing knowledge on the link between personality and health in older adults, by identifying the personality traits associated with frailty, a complex geriatric syndrome.