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Previous research has established conscientiousness as a predictor of longevity (H. S. Friedman et al., 1993; L. R. Martin & H. S. Friedman, 2000). To better understand this relationship, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of conscientiousness-related traits and the leading behavioral contributors to mortality in the United States (tobacco use, diet and activity patterns, excessive alcohol use, violence, risky sexual behavior, risky driving, suicide, and drug use). Data sources were located by combining conscientiousness-related terms and relevant health-related behavior terms in database searches as well as by retrieving dissertations and requesting unpublished data from electronic mailing lists. The resulting database contained 194 studies that were quantitatively synthesized. Results showed that conscientiousness-related traits were negatively related to all risky health-related behaviors and positively related to all beneficial health-related behaviors. This study demonstrates the importance of conscientiousness' contribution to the health process through its relationship to health-related behaviors.

Conscientiousness refers to individual differences in the propensity to follow socially prescribed norms for impulse control, to be task- and goal-directed, to be planful, to delay gratification, and to follow norms and rules (John & Srivastava, 1999). Despite being identified as a potentially important health-related trait (Friedman, 2000; Roberts & Bogg, 2004), the scope and importance of the relationship between conscientiousness and the health process has not been fully explored. For example, in a longitudinal study of childhood conscientiousness and longevity using data from the Terman Life Cycle Study of gifted children, Friedman et al. (1993) found an effect larger in magnitude than the effects of...