BEHAVIORAL, PERSONALITY, AND HORMONAL CORRELATES OF TYPES AND DIMENSIONS OF PHYSICAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS IN DAILY LIFE
Open Access
- Author:
- King, Heather
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- September 23, 2011
- Committee Members:
- David M. Almeida, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Mark T. Greenberg, Committee Member
Martin J. Sliwinski, Committee Member
Laura Cousino Klein, Committee Member - Keywords:
- neuroticism
physical symptoms
cortisol - Abstract:
- Daily physical health symptoms are an integral part of health during adulthood, however, much remains to be explored regarding these experiences. Although different types and dimensions may be important, few studies have simultaneously examined these aspects of symptom reports and at the daily level. The goal of this dissertation was to examine multiple dimensions (e.g., frequency, severity) and types of physical symptoms in daily life as well as behavioral, personality, and hormonal correlates using a national sample of adults. The first aim of Paper 1 was to provide a descriptive account of daily physical health symptom experiences. Symptom types were compared, and age and gender differences were also examined. The second aim was to examine how levels of and fluctuations in various aspects of daily physical symptoms are associated with daily work cutback, an index of symptom-related impairment. Both between- and within- person associations and the role of age as a moderator were examined using logistic multilevel modeling. In general, the results provided evidence for multidimensionality. In addition, women generally reported worse daily physical health compared to men. Fewer age differences emerged, though older adults experienced bodily pain more frequently. Finally, symptom experiences were linked to the odds of reporting any work cutback, particularly for adults in midlife in some instances. Paper 2 examined how neuroticism was associated with daily physical health symptom occurrence as well as level of and fluctuation in symptom severity by symptom type. The second aim was to investigate how neuroticism and physical symptom experiences were associated with and combined to predict parameters of diurnal cortisol, specifically the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and daily decline. Results from logistic and linear multilevel models demonstrated that neuroticism was primarily associated with bodily pain and fatigue symptoms as well as a less steep (CAR) and more day-to-day variation in the afternoon/evening cortisol decline. In addition, specific types and dimensions of symptom experiences were associated with a flatter daily cortisol decline as well as interacted with neuroticism to influence diurnal cortisol. Collectively, these results have implications for assessment of daily physical health symptoms in survey research and medical settings. In addition, neuroticism is a risk factor for poor daily physical health and physiological dysregulation with intervention applications.