Conscientiousness Mediates Females’ Life Span Differences in Cognitive Failures: A Cross-Sectional Study Publisher Pubmed



Bahri M ; Bahri M ; Ahmadi E
Source: Cognitive Processing Published:2026

Abstract

Evidence has shown that women experience increased cognitive failures in midlife. At the same time, changes in personality traits may occur with increasing age. This study determines which Big Five personality traits mediate age-related cognitive failures in females. We have adhered to the guidelines of the STROBE Checklist in presenting this research. A total of 215 women participated in the study. The participants were assigned to Early Adults (20–29 years old), Early Middle-Aged Adults(30–39 years of age), or Late Middle-Aged Adults (40–55 years old) groups, and completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. Mediation analysis implied that conscientiousness negatively mediated the relationship between age and cognitive failures. This means that with increasing age, higher conscientiousness is associated with fewer cognitive failures. Understanding the role of Big Five personality traits as a mediating factor in the age-cognitive failures relationship could have important implications for interventions aimed at supporting women’s cognitive health, well-being, and longevity. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Marta Olivetti Belardinelli 2026.