Epidemiological personology: the unifying role of personality in population-based research on problem behaviors.

Epidemiological personology refers to a paradigm in which a developmental perspective on individual differences is paired with a population-based sampling frame to yield insights about the role of personality in consequential social outcomes. We review our work in epidemiological personology, linking personality to diverse, problematic social outcomes: Mental disorders, health-risk behaviors, and violence. We conclude that broad-band personality measurement is both feasible and fruitful in large-scale research on problem behaviors, and we call for increased collaboration between personality psychologists and researchers in fields such as public health, epidemiology, and sociology.

Duke Scholars

Author Avshalom Caspi Psychology & Neuroscience

Author Terrie E. Moffitt Psychology & Neuroscience