Personality is associated with health, but examinations in patients with illnesses are lacking. We aimed to determine whether personality-physical health associations differed between community and cancer samples. This cross-sectional study involved 168 participants without cancer, 212 men with prostate cancer, and 55 women with breast cancer. We examined whether the Big Five personality dimensions were associated with health behaviors and multiple health indicators. Higher conscientiousness and lower neuroticism were associated with better health behaviors and health (rmax = .31), with few differences between community and cancer samples. Findings call for research on the implications of personality in patients with serious illnesses.
Keywords: health behaviors; health outcomes; oncology; personality; physical health.