The role of personality traits in health care utilization

It is unclear which psychosocial factors explain individual differences in seeking primary, secondary, and tertiary care, and under which conditions. The current work integrates the study of personality and health care into existing theoretical models to determine extent to which traits can be used to understand who seeks health services. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 14,358, with 141,401 distinct measurements), multilevel logistic models were used to estimate the likelihood of using health services from known correlates of healthcare utilization (age, self-rated health, and diagnosis of chronic conditions), personality traits, and the interaction of these domains. Independent of health status, traits were associated with the use of health services. Little evidence of moderation was found, although chronic conditions strengthened the association between conscientiousness and seeking health care. These results suggest that personality traits may influence health beyond simply affecting the need for health services. This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging grant R01-AG018436. reviewed acceptedVersion