Does Age Matter? A Comparison of Personality Profiles in Adult and Older Patients with Cancer Using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB).

Background/

Objectives

This study aimed to examine personality profiles at the intrapsychic level ("Oneself") in adult and older patients with cancer and to compare potential differences between these age groups.

Methods

In this observational, cross-sectional comparative study, 273 patients with cancer (all disease stages) were categorized into two age groups: adults (40-64 years, n = 141) and older adults (≥65 years, n = 132). Personality was assessed using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) Form-A. Descriptive and inferential bivariate statistical analyses, including Chi-square tests and independent-samples t-tests, were performed to evaluate differences between the two age groups. To further examine the association between age group and SASB Cluster 1, a multivariable exploratory post hoc factorial General Linear Model (factorial GLM) was conducted.

Results

Comparisons between adults and older adults revealed significant differences in socio-demographic backgrounds, with older patients being more frequently widowed and having lower educational attainment (both p < 0.001). Regarding personality dimensions, a significant difference was observed exclusively in SASB Cluster 1 (Autonomy-Assertive and Separating), with higher scores among older participants (4.4 vs. 3.9; p = 0.002). However, in the adjusted factorial GLM, the main effect of age group was no longer statistically significant (p = 0.054), and no significant two-way interactions emerged, including the age-group-by-education interaction (p = 0.222). This indicates that the initial unadjusted age-group association was attenuated after accounting for selected socio-demographic variables. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the remaining SASB Clusters.

Conclusions

These findings caution against overestimating the role of chronological age as an isolated variable in psycho-oncological research. Personality differences in Cluster 1 co-occur with distinct cohort-specific and socio-demographic life-course profiles. Understanding how personality relates to shifting socio-demographic circumstances across the lifespan may support the development of more tailored, context-sensitive psycho-oncological interventions.