title: Personality in late midlife: associations with demographic factors and cognitive ability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze associations in late midlife between sex, age, education and social class, and the Big Five personality traits; to analyze associations between personality traits and cognitive ability in late midlife; and to evaluate how these associations are influenced by demographic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample comprised 5,397 late midlife participants from three cohorts who had completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and a measure of cognitive ability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Associations were demonstrated between the five NEO-FFI personality traits, and all included demographic factors. Cognitive ability and years of education correlated with several NEO-FFI personality traits in analyses adjusting for demographic variables. Cohort differences were observed for Extraversion and Openness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Robust sex, educational, and social class differences in personality may contribute to late midlife social gradients in health and early aging. Demographic factors did not fully explain correlations between personality and cognitive ability or cohort differences in personality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Erik Lykke
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.forename: Trine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Flensborg-Madsen
authors.forename: Drude
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Molbo
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: Merete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osler
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Avlund
authors.forename: Rikke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lund
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class
keywords: I-S-T 2000 R; NEO-FFI; cognitive ability; demographic factors; personality