Age as a Moderator of Gender/Sex Differences in Personality Traits Across Countries

This study examines how age moderates gender/sex differences in Five-Factor Model personality traits across cultures. Previous findings suggest that women generally score higher than men on these traits, with larger gender/sex gaps observed in personality traits in more developed, egalitarian, and individualistic countries. Additionally, gender/sex differences in personality vary across age. However, the timing and cultural universality of these changes remain unclear. Using multilevel modelling analysis on a large cross-cultural online sample (N = 3,038,567; ages 10–65 years, 68 countries), the study found that the moderation effect of age on the gender/sex gap in personality traits was significant and varied across countries. The gender/sex gap in Neuroticism was wider among younger participants in more economically developed and gender egalitarian countries. Conversely, gender/sex gaps in Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were larger among older participants in countries with higher levels of human development, gender equality, individualism, self-expressive values, and later mean ages for marriage and childbearing. These findings suggest that cultural, socioeconomic, marital, and family-related country-level factors may be associated with varying levels of expression of innate personality traits across the lifespan.