Social
Association of Neighborhood Social Environment and Psychological Wellbeing in the Health and Retirement Study: Moderation by Personality Traits Sana A. Khan* Sana Khan Khan Khan Socio-Spatial Determinants of Health (SSDH) Laboratory, Population and Community Health Sciences Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Purpose: Despite perceived neighborhood social environments associated with older adults’ well-being, the extent to which personality traits may moderate these associations remain understudied. Thus, we examined the associations of perceived neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder with psychological well-being (PWB), and whether these associations are moderated by personality traits.
Methods: Cross-sectional data came from the 2022 Health and Retirement Study (n=2,984; mean age=70.4). PWB was measured using a self-report scale. Perceived neighborhood social cohesion (trusting neighbors) and physical disorder (trash/litter) were assessed using self-report scales. Weighted regression models were used to examine associations of neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder with PWB, stratified by personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) and adjusted for covariates.
Results: Overall, higher social cohesion and physical disorder were associated with higher and lower PWB, respectively (β=0.09, 95% CI [0.06, 0.13]; β=-0.06, 95% CI [-0.09, -0.03]) (Table 1). In stratified analyses, higher social cohesion was associated with higher PWB among participants with both high and low openness. Similar associations were observed across strata for the other traits (all p<.05). Higher physical disorder was associated with lower PWB in participants with low levels of each trait when analyzed separately, except neuroticism, for which associations were observed at both high and low levels (all p<.05).
Conclusion: Neighborhood social cohesion was related to well-being across personality strata, while physical disorder was linked to well-being generally in low-trait groups. Future research should continue to explore how individual-level personality traits may differentially moderate the relationship between perceived neighborhood contexts and well-being in later life.
