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The Journal of Genetic Psychology
Research and Theory on Human Development
Volume 179, 2018 - Issue 2
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Articles

Age and Sex Differences in Morningness/Eveningness Along the Life Span: A Cross-Sectional Study in Spain

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Pages 71-84 | Received 09 Oct 2017, Accepted 03 Jan 2018, Published online: 09 Feb 2018
 

ABSTRACT

Work psychology has noted the importance of considering the temporal dimension of behavior in organizations. Given that society widely operates on a 24-hr schedule, it is important to know how circadian typologies are distributed in the general population. In this study, diurnal preference was analyzed among 4,175 Spanish participants (61.3% women), 12–59 years old, who completed the Composite Scale of Morningness (Smith, Reilly, & Midkiff, 1989). Several measurement models of the CSM were analyzed using exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis. The bifactor model showed the best fit, with a general factor (morningness/eveningness) and three subfactors (morningness, morning affect, and time of retiring). The age and sex factorial invariance of the bifactor model were tenable at the latent variance-covariance level. Next, age and sex differences analysis indicated a progressive increase in morningness with age, but over 40 years old, men were more morningness oriented than women were. These results indicate that morningness/eveningness can be considered a multidimensional construct and that psychosocial factors must be considered when estimating the prevalence of morningness/eveningness in different populations or countries.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a Retos de la Sociedad (2017-2019); Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain (Ref. PSI2016-76552).

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