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Conscientiousness

I plan to update the current article with results from recent studies.

Draft/Outline
Amongst the big five, conscientiousness is perhaps the best trait to act as an indicator for good health. commonly it is designated as a trait best suited for career outcomes and scholarly achievement. An understated benefit of being high in conscientiousness is having on average a longer lifespan which promotes a higher level of satisfaction and vitality.

Behaviors such as binge drinking and smoking have been shown to be correlated with low conscientiousness ratings, while individuals high in conscientious lower their frequency of such behaviors and may even abstain.

Conscientiousness has even been linked to physiological measures such as levels of cortisol found in hair. Individuals high in conscientiousness have been found to have low levels of cortisol and reported a greater feeling of well being compared to their conscientious counterparts.

Academic and workplace performance
Conscientiousness is importantly related to successful academic performance in students and workplace performance among managers and workers. Low levels of conscientiousness are strongly associated with procrastination. A considerable amount of research indicates that conscientiousness has a small positive correlation with performance in the workplace, and indeed that after general mental ability is taken into account, the other four of the Big Five personality traits do not aid in predicting career success. Conscientious employees are generally more reliable, more motivated, and harder working. They also have lower rates of absenteeism and counterproductive work behaviors such as stealing and fighting with other employees. Furthermore, conscientiousness is the only personality trait that correlates with performance across all categories of jobs. However, agreeableness and emotional stability may also be important, particularly in jobs that involve a significant amount of social interaction. Of all manager/leader types, top executives show the lowest level of rule-following, a conscientious trait. Conscientiousness is not always positively related to job performance, sometimes the opposite is true. Retirement is another life event that conscientiousness plays a vital role in. The phenomenon known, as ‘job lock’ is the perceived notion that an individual must continue to work due to outside constraints, thus the individual is forced to work until that constraint is diminished and they can retire without worry. At the opposite end of the career spectrum, many individuals are forced to retire early, which may lead to negative life outcomes. Ryan, Newton, Chauhan, and Chopik (2018) sought out to determine how personality factors and job lock could influence well-being in individual who are in the retirement process. The results indicated that individuals who perceived themselves as job locked and high on conscientiousness were more likely to have a positive feeling of well-being when compared to individuals who felt that they were job locked but low in conscientiousness. Subjective well-being In general, conscientiousness has a positive relationship with subjective well-being, particularly satisfaction with life, so highly conscientious people tend to be happier with their lives than those who score low on this trait. Although conscientiousness is generally seen as a positive trait to possess, recent research has suggested that in some situations it may be harmful for well-being. In a prospective study of 9570 individuals over four years, highly conscientious people suffered more than twice as much if they became unemployed. The authors suggested this may be due to conscientious people making different attributions about why they became unemployed, or through experiencing stronger reactions following failure. This finding is consistent with perspectives which see no trait as inherently positive or negative, but rather the consequences of the trait being dependent on the situation and concomitant goals and motivations.

Problematic life outcomes
Low conscientiousness has been linked to antisocial and criminal behaviors, as well as unemployment, homelessness, and imprisonment. Low conscientiousness and low agreeableness taken together are also associated with substance abuse. People low in conscientiousness have difficulty saving money and have different borrowing practices than conscientious people. High conscientiousness is associated with more careful planning of shopping trips and less impulse buying of unneeded items. Conscientiousness has been found to be positively correlated with business, white-collar crime.

Health and longevity
According to an 80-year old and ongoing study started in 1921 by psychologist Lewis Terman on over 1,500 gifted adolescent Californians, "The strongest predictor of long life was conscientiousness." Specific behaviors associated with low conscientiousness may explain its influence on longevity.Conscientiousness has shown to exhibit a physical presence within the body. Steptoe, Easterlin, and Kirschbaum (2017) measured cortisol levels in the elderly from hair samples. They found that high conscientiousness was correlated with low concentrations of cortisol, while low conscientiousness exhibited higher concentrations of cortisol. This study demonstrates that personality may have a direct link to endocrinology, which shows the link between personality and individual health.Ten different behaviors that are among the leading causes of mortality—alcohol use, disordered eating (including obesity), drug use, lack of exercise, risky sexual behavior, risky driving, tobacco use, suicide, risky texts, and violence—are all predicted by low conscientiousness.Conscientiousness has been shown to affect the gut microbiota of individual. Individuals low in conscientiousness and high in neuroticism tend to have increased amounts of Gammaprteobacteria and Proteobacteria found in their gut microbiota. Both of theses groups of bacteria exnibit pro-inflammatory substances, which can alter mood and cause, negative health outcomes such as obesity. High conscientiousness is correlated with an increased abundance of Lachnospiraceae, which have anti-inflammatory effects. Health behaviors are more strongly correlated with the conventionality rather than the impulse-control aspect of conscientiousness. Apparently, social norms influence many health-relevant behavior, such as healthy diet and exercise, not smoking and moderate drinking, and highly conscientious people adhere the most strongly to these norms. Additionally, conscientiousness is positively related to health behaviors such as regular visits to a doctor, checking smoke alarms, and adherence to medication regimens. Such behavior may better safeguard health and prevent disease. As an individual ages cognitive function declines. This decline is variable amongst elderly individuals. Maldonato, et al (2017) studied the relationship between personality traits and cognitive function found in the elderly. They discovered that conscientiousness was correlated with increased cognitive functioning and overall memory performance. Out of the five traits, conscientiousness demonstrated the least likely decline of neuro function and could be a protective factor as one becomes older.

Relationships
Relationship quality is positively associated with partners' level of conscientiousness, and highly conscientious people are less likely to get divorced. Conscientiousness is associated with lower rates of behavior associated with divorce, such as extramarital affairs, spousal abuse, and alcohol abuse. Conscientious behaviors may have a direct influence on relationship quality, as people low in conscientiousness are less responsible, less responsive to their partners, are more condescending, and less likely to hold back offensive comments. On the other hand, more conscientious people are better at managing conflict and tend to provoke fewer disagreements, perhaps because they elicit less criticism due to their well-controlled and responsible behavior.

Fertility
Fertility has been found to decrease in women who exhibit higher levels of conscientiousness. Men exhibit a different pattern of fertility when compared to women. Men, who register high in conscientiousness, have higher concentrations of androgens. Along with extroversion, the combination leads to overall higher levels of fertility.

Conformity
Conscientiousness (all its subfactors) correlate significantly with conformity (+0.33, p < 0.01). Across 50 American states the concept of tightness-looseness was measured. This concept encompasses the how laws and rules are enforced and how much an individual is free to act. Conscientiousness was correlated with so-called tight states and negatively correlated with loose states. In tight states, drug use was low as was homelessness.