Personality changes in the aged. A transectional and longitudinal study with the Eysenck Personality Inventory

As part of a comprehensive epidemiological study in the elderly the Eysenck Personality Inventory was administered to 70-, 75- and 79-year-old samples. Extraversion and Lie scores were approximately normally distributed whereas Neuroticism was positively skewed. There was a negative correlation between Lie-scale and Neuroticism. Norms for EPI scores in 70-year-olds are presented. Transectional comparisons with 50-year-old samples showed that in 70-year-olds Extraversion was lower in both sexes, Neuroticism was higher in females, and Lie scores were higher in both sexes. Between 70 and 79 years of age Neuroticism scores were progressively lower for males, which may be explained by selective mortality. Females scored significantly higher than males on Neuroticism in all four age groups. Subjects with lower intelligence scored higher on Extraversion and Neuroticism than subjects with higher intelligence. Subjects with mild-moderate dementias and with neurotic conditions scored higher on Neuroticism than subjects with no diagnosis. There were also some differences associated with subjective age, sexual activity and survival, indicating that subjects who were more vital in these respects scored higher on Extraversion and lower on Neuroticism.