The most important changes in personality dimensions seem to take place under the age of 30. Nevertheless, the influence of work status has not been systematically assessed in the examination of when these big changes happen. Besides, gender differences in some personality dimensions are still not conclusive. The aim of this study was to examine the age differences in personality dimensions when work status (students vs. workers) for young adults is taken into account, as well as to examine possible gender differences in the Basque speakers' population. Participants were 1,441 Basque speakers (students and civil servants) whose ages ranged from 16 to 65 years. Results showed that younger students had higher scores in Extraversion, regardless of the work status. However, the work status variable was more important than the age effect to explain changes in Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. Besides, women showed higher scores for Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, although there were not gender differences for other dimensions.
Five-Factor Model of Personality
Personality and Ageing
Personality and Gender
Method
Results
Discussion
References