Chunk #42 — CAUSAL LINKS BETWEEN NEUROTICISM AND ADVERSE OUTCOMES — Causal Links Between Neuroticism and Physical Health Problems — Neuroticism and Physiological Stress Reactivity
There is growing evidence that neuroticism moderates the magnitude of physiological responses to stressors, but this evidence is not fully consistent. Several studies suggest that individuals high in neuroticism have larger and more prolonged sympathetic responses to stressors (Norris, Larsen, & Cacioppo, 2007; Riese et al., 2007; Vogeltanz & Hecker, 1999), greater cardiovascular reactivity (Muth, Koch, & Stern, 2000), and higher morning levels of cortisol (Portella, Harmer, Flint, Cowen, & Goodwin, 2005), but have blunted cortisol response to stress (Oswald et al., 2006; Phillips, Carroll, Burns, & Drayson, 2005). Hormonal challenge studies suggest that this blunted cortisol stress response in individuals with high neuroticism scores may reflect down-regulation of the HPA system due to prolonged cortisol elevation (McCleery & Goodwin, 2001; Zobel et al., 2004). Neuroticism also is related to disruption of circadian rhythms (Murray, Allen, Trinder, & Burgess, 2002) and is correlated with abnormalities of the immune system (Bouhuys et al., 2004). Higher neuroticism has been found to be associated with more prolonged suppression of secretory immunoglobulin following a stressor (Hennig, Possel, & Netter, 1996), atypical response of natural
