Background
Given that wellbeing is important for individuals’ physical and mental health, it is crucial to understand which factors are associated with wellbeing. Personality is known to be such a factor, also at the genetic level. However, previous studies on this topic have led to diverging results as they used heterogeneous and narrow measures of wellbeing. In addition, previous results are mostly limited to the Big Five personality traits, while recent studies have suggested that more general personality traits, broader than the Big Five, exist. In the current study, we address these shortcomings by expanding the personality and wellbeing domain in our investigation of their (genetic) relations.
Hypotheses/Research Questions
To what extent do higher order personality factors (Stability, Plasticity and the General Factor of Personality; GFP) and the 5-WBS (subjective wellbeing, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and self-rated health, excluding Neuroticism as this is a personality trait) have the same environmental and genetic causes?
Sample Characteristics and Sample Size
Data on a large sample of twins and their siblings (N > 10,000) from two waves of the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) are used.
Design
Based on the correlations between monozygotic and dizygotic twins, one can decompose the (co)variance of the traits under investigation into additive genetic (A) factors, common environmental (C) factors, and unique environmental (E) factors in multivariate twin models. Several competing models will be fitted on the relation between the personality traits at different levels (i.e., the Big Five, Stability/Plasticity and the GFP) and the 5-WBS in order to investigate their underlying genetic causes.
Results
This study is in progress. Full results will be presented at the conference.
Scientific Contribution
This study will lead to new insights in the (genetic) relation between wellbeing and personality, which can be used to inform future interventions designed to increase individuals’ wellbeing.