{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]],"date-time":"2026-06-01T13:29:00Z","timestamp":1780320540020,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,29]],"date-time":"2025-08-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756425600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>The relationship between personality traits, as defined by the Five Factor Model (FFM), and social frailty\u2014according to the Gobbens model\u2014represents a relatively novel area of research. Moreover, few studies have examined the link between personality and loneliness, a key determinant of social frailty, in older adults. This study aimed to explore the association between FFM personality traits and social frailty, and to assess whether perceived loneliness mediates this relationship.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This cross-sectional observational study involved community-dwelling older adults attending a Geriatric Outpatients Clinic. Individuals aged \u226565 years were enrolled; those with diagnosed major neurocognitive disorders or psychiatric conditions were excluded. Personality traits were assessed using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), loneliness via the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and frailty through the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Data from 202 participants were analyzed (mean age: 74.45 \u00b1 7.76 years; 57% female). Neuroticism was the only trait significantly associated with perceived loneliness (<jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic> = 0.190; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> = 0.007). Perceived loneliness, in turn, was the sole variable significantly associated with social frailty (<jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic> = 0.526; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.001). A mediation model (with age as covariate) revealed that loneliness fully mediated the relationship between Neuroticism and social frailty: the completely standardized indirect effect [\u03b2 = 0.1017; 95% CI (0.0376, 0.1714)] confirms a moderate mediation effect.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>In older adults, higher levels of Neuroticism\u2014reflecting a tendency toward negative affectivity\u2014are linked to increased social frailty, primarily through the mediating role of perceived loneliness.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1637088","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,29]],"date-time":"2025-08-29T04:10:54Z","timestamp":1756440654000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Personality traits and social frailty in older adults: exploring the mediating effect of perceived loneliness"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Alberto","family":"Sardella","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vittorio","family":"Lenzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Grazia","family":"Razza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tiziana","family":"Maci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samuele","family":"Russo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dario","family":"Cannav\u00f2","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pasquale","family":"Caponnetto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giorgio","family":"Basile","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria C.","family":"Quattropani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"509","DOI":"10.1037\/\/0003-066X.52.5.509","article-title":"Personality trait structure as a human universal","volume":"52","author":"McCrae","year":"1997","journal-title":"Am Psychol."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"421","DOI":"10.1093\/geronb\/gbac154","article-title":"Five-factor model personality traits and the trajectory of episodic memory: individual-participant meta-analysis of 471,821 memory assessments from 120,640 participants","volume":"78","author":"Sutin","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1037\/pag0000502","article-title":"Cross-sectional and prospective association between personality traits and IADL\/ADL limitations","volume":"36","author":"Canada","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychol Aging."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"gbae051","DOI":"10.1093\/geronb\/gbae051","article-title":"Personality and risk of arthritis in six longitudinal samples","volume":"79","author":"Stephan","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"174","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrp.2017.07.005","article-title":"Personality predicts mortality risk: an integrative data analysis of 15 international longitudinal studies","volume":"70","author":"Graham","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Res Pers."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"752","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)62167-9","article-title":"Frailty in elderly people","volume":"381","author":"Clegg","year":"2013","journal-title":"Lancet."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1093\/gerona\/56.3.M146","article-title":"Frailty in older adults: evidence for a phenotype","author":"Fried","year":"2001","journal-title":"J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"489","DOI":"10.1503\/cmaj.050051","article-title":"A global clinical measure of fitness and frailty in elderly people","volume":"173","author":"Rockwood","year":"2005","journal-title":"CMAJ."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"338","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jamda.2009.09.015","article-title":"In search of an integral conceptual definition of frailty: opinions of experts","volume":"11","author":"Gobbens","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Am Med Dir Assoc."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"344","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jamda.2009.11.003","article-title":"The tilburg frailty indicator: psychometric properties","volume":"11","author":"Gobbens","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Am Med Dir Assoc."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"356","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jamda.2009.11.008","article-title":"Determinants of frailty","volume":"11","author":"Gobbens","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Am Med Dir Assoc."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"16278","DOI":"10.1007\/s12144-023-05586-x","volume":"43","author":"Pak","year":"2024","journal-title":"Curr Psychol"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1186\/s12877-024-04666-2","article-title":"The relationship between social frailty and loneliness in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study","volume":"24","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Geriatr."},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1007\/s12160-010-9210-8","article-title":"Loneliness matters: a theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms","volume":"40","author":"Hawkley","year":"2010","journal-title":"Ann Behav Med."},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1243","DOI":"10.3233\/JAD-220832","article-title":"Loneliness and cognitive function in older adults without dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"91","author":"Harrington","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Alzheimers Dis."},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"475","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jagp.2022.12.002","article-title":"Eight-year trajectories of late-life loneliness and incident dementia: a nationally representative cohort study","volume":"31","author":"Li","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am J Geriatr Psychiatry."},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"202","DOI":"10.3928\/19404921-20230503-02","article-title":"Loneliness and functional decline in aging: a systematic review","volume":"16","author":"Pollak","year":"2023","journal-title":"Res Gerontol Nurs."},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-017-1339-3","article-title":"Loneliness and depression in the elderly: the role of social network","volume":"52","author":"Dom\u00e8nech-Abella","year":"2017","journal-title":"Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol."},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101705","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arr.2022.101705","article-title":"Associations between loneliness and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"81","author":"Kojima","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ageing Res Rev."},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"621013","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.621013","article-title":"Dispositional optimism and context sensitivity: psychological contributors to frailty status among elderly outpatients","volume":"11","author":"Sardella","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Psychol."},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrp.2016.12.006","article-title":"Personality and frailty: evidence from four samples","volume":"66","author":"Stephan","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Res Pers."},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"128","DOI":"10.1007\/s12160-016-9833-5","article-title":"Personality and risk of frailty: the English longitudinal study of ageing","volume":"51","author":"Gale","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ann Behav Med."},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1186\/s12955-020-01303-5","article-title":"Personality traits and the risk of becoming lonely in old age: a 5-year follow-up study","volume":"18","author":"Ormstad","year":"2020","journal-title":"Health Qual Life Outcomes."},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.books.9780890425787","article-title":"Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders","author":"American","year":"2022"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"504","DOI":"10.1016\/S0092-6566(03)00046-1","article-title":"A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains","volume":"37","author":"Gosling","year":"2003","journal-title":"J Res Pers."},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1027\/1015-5759\/a000215","article-title":"Psychometric properties of a revised version of the Ten Item Personality Inventory","volume":"31","author":"Chiorri","year":"2015","journal-title":"Eur J Psychol Assess"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"655","DOI":"10.1177\/0164027504268574","article-title":"A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: results from two population-based studies","volume":"26","author":"Hughes","year":"2004","journal-title":"Res Aging."},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2843","DOI":"10.2147\/PRBM.S406523","article-title":"Assessment of an epidemic urgency: psychometric evidence for the UCLA loneliness scale","volume":"16","author":"Bottaro","year":"2023","journal-title":"Psychol Res Behav Manag."},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"842","DOI":"10.1177\/0164027515606192","article-title":"The Italian version of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator: analysis of psychometric properties","volume":"38","author":"Mulasso","year":"2016","journal-title":"Res Aging."},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"408","DOI":"10.1080\/03637750903310360","article-title":"Beyond Baron and Kenny: statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium","volume":"76","author":"Hayes","year":"2009","journal-title":"Comm Monogr"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"323","DOI":"10.1007\/s10433-017-0414-7","article-title":"Social frailty in older adults: a scoping review","volume":"14","author":"Bunt","year":"2017","journal-title":"Eur J Ageing."},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jamda.2022.10.007","article-title":"The prevalence of social frailty among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"24","author":"Yu","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Am Med Dir Assoc"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e332","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-2667(18)30091-4","article-title":"Frailty and pre-frailty in middle-aged and older adults and its association with multimorbidity and mortality: a prospective analysis of 493,737 UK Biobank participants","volume":"3","author":"Hanlon","year":"2018","journal-title":"Lancet Public Health"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104755","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnurstu.2024.104755","article-title":"Prevalence of multidimensional frailty among community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"154","author":"Qiu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int J Nurs Stud."},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1668","DOI":"10.1093\/geronb\/gbad099","article-title":"The risks of experiencing severe loneliness across middle and late adulthood","volume":"78","author":"Huxhold","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci."},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2333721418778181","DOI":"10.1177\/2333721418778181","article-title":"The association between personality and loneliness: findings from a community-dwelling Chinese aging population","volume":"4","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Gerontol Geriatr Med."},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"641","DOI":"10.1177\/2167702620906145","article-title":"Neuroticism and interpretive bias as risk factors for anxiety and depression","volume":"8","author":"Vinograd","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clin Psychol Sci."},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"698","DOI":"10.1111\/sjop.12849","article-title":"Expressive flexibility and health-related quality of life: the predictive role of enhancement and suppression abilities and relationships with trait emotional intelligence","volume":"63","author":"Quattropani","year":"2022","journal-title":"Scand J Psychol."},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1054","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrp.2005.11.007","article-title":"Loneliness within a nomological net: an evolutionary perspective","volume":"40","author":"Cacioppo","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Res Pers."},{"key":"B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101801","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2024.101801","article-title":"Understanding loneliness in late life","volume":"57","author":"Huxhold","year":"2024","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychol."},{"key":"B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0000083","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000083","article-title":"Affective reserve: a new reserve concept we should talk about","volume":"1","author":"Di","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS Ment Health"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1637088\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,29]],"date-time":"2025-08-29T04:10:55Z","timestamp":1756440655000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1637088\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,29]]},"references-count":41,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1637088"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1637088","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,29]]},"article-number":"1637088"}}