ABSTRACT

The most important changes in personality dimensionsseem to take place under the age of 30. Nevertheless, theinfluence of work status has not been systematically assessed inthe examination of when these big changes happen. Besides,gender differences in some personality dimensions are still notconclusive. The aim of this study was to examine the agedifferences in personality dimensions when work status (studentsvs. workers) for young adults is taken into account, as well asto examine possible gender differences in the Basque speakers'population. Participants were 1,441 Basque speakers (students andcivil servants) whose ages ranged from 16 to 65 years. Resultsshowed that younger students had higher scores in Extraversion,regardless of the work status. However, the work status variablewas more important than the age effect to explain changes inNeuroticism and Conscientiousness. Besides, women showedhigher scores for Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, althoughthere were not gender differences for other dimensions.