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Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on December 12, 2005
Age and Ageing 2006 35(2):143-147; doi:10.1093/ageing/afj013
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Exploring the relationship between fear of falling and neuroticism: a cross-sectional study in community-dwelling women over 70

Rachel Mann, Yvonne Birks, Jill Hall, David Torgerson and Ian Watt

Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK

Address correspondence to: Yvonne Birks. Tel: (+44) 1904 321328. Fax: (+44) 1904 321382. Email: yfb1{at}york.ac.uk

Background: fear of falling in older adults has been associated with generalised anxiety and may lead to avoidance of activities, with a further negative impact on future falls. Individual differences in personality associated with anxiety have not been previously examined in relation to fear of falling. Current assessment measures and interventions designed to reduce fear of falling in older adults do not take into account perceptions of anxiety associated with individual differences in personality.

Aim: to determine whether the core personality trait dimension of neuroticism can predict fear of falling in a community-dwelling sample of women ≥70 years of age.

Methods: cross-sectional data from 1,691 UK, community-dwelling female participants aged ≥70 years were examined using multiple and logistic regression analysis. Fear of falling was measured on a 6-point Likert scale. Neuroticism was measured using the Eysenck personality inventory.

Results: the significant independent odds ratios (OR) of predicting fear of falling were: neuroticism (OR 1.47 per SD increase, P<0.001), history of falling (OR 1.57, P<0.001), experience of fracture (OR 1.78, P = 0.014), need to use both arms to push up to rise from a chair (OR 1.56, P = 0.001), poor subjective general health, as measured by the SF12 (OR 1.63 per SD decrease, P<0.001) and living alone (OR 1.31, P = 0.031).

Conclusions: neuroticism seems to be an important psychological factor in the experience of fear of falling in community-dwelling older women. It may be relevant for inclusion in current assessment measures and for consideration in the design of interventions to reduce fear of falling.

Keywords: fear of falling, personality, anxiety, elderly

Received July 13, 2005; accepted in revised form October 17, 2005.


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