The longitudinal association of psychological resources with chronic conditions and the mediating roles of health behaviours and allostatic load.

Objective: To investigate the association of psychological resources with the prevalence of chronic conditions up to 10 years later, and the mediating roles of health behaviours and allostatic load. Design: Participants from the Midlife in the United States study (N = 850) completed surveys and biomarker assessments over the course of 10 years. Main Outcome Measures: Primary outcome was the prevalence of chronic conditions later in life, controlling for baseline chronic conditions. Secondary outcomes were health behaviours and allostatic load. Direct and indirect associations between psychological resources and chronic conditions were examined. Results: Psychological resources were negatively associated with chronic conditions directly (ƅ = -.177, p < .05) and indirectly through health behaviours (ƅ = -.026, p < .05), but not through allostatic load (ƅ = -.000, p > .05). Psychological resources were positively associated with health behaviours (ƅ = .130, p < .01), but no association was found between psychological resources and allostatic load (ƅ = -.002, p > .05). Health behaviours were negatively associated with chronic conditions (ƅ = -.201, p < .01), and allostatic load was positively associated with chronic conditions (ƅ = .197, p < .05). Conclusion: Findings highlight the beneficial influence of psychological resources on chronic conditions, and the mediating role of health behaviours.