Circadian Typology, Age, and the Alternative Five-Factor Personality Model in an Adult Women Sample

Abstract

Research on personality and circadian typology indicates evening-type women are more impulsive and novelty seeking, neither types are more anxious, and morning types tend to be more active, conscientious, and persistent. The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between circadian typologies in the light of the Zuckerman's Alternative Five-Factor Model (AFFM) of personality, which has a strong biological basis, in an adult sample of 412 women 18 to 55 yrs of age. The authors found morning-type women had significant higher scores than evening-type and neither-type women on Activity, and its subscales General Activity and Work Activity. In contrast, evening-type women scored significantly higher than morning-type women on Aggression-Hostility, Impulsive Sensation Seeking, and its subscale Sensation Seeking. In all groups, results were independent of age. These findings are in accordance with those previously obtained in female student samples and add new data on the AFFM. The need of using personality models that are biologically based in the study of circadian rhythms is discussed. (Author correspondence: [email protected])

Keywords:

• Age
• Circadian typology
• Personality
• Women
• Zuckerman's Alternative Five-Factor Model
• Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study has been supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya, grant number 2009 SGR 1450, “Behaviors, life styles and health in women.”

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.