Early life conditions and human personality traits: a cross-cultural study

Few studies have examined the influence of specific early life factors on personality traits. Studies of early life adversity report lower openness to experience in Zambia (Rockers et al., 2023), lower agreeableness in the US (Carver et al., 2014), and lower emotional stability in Australia (Rosenman & Rodgers, 2006). Poor early life health (for a review, see Sutin et al., 2025) has been associated with lower levels of extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and with higher levels of neuroticism in a European sample (López-González & Topa, 2024). Nevertheless, comprehensive, cross-cultural evidence on the relationship between different early life factors and adult personality traits is still lacking. In this study, we aim to identify which early life factors are associated with personality traits later in life. We also examine how these early life factors and current living conditions jointly relate to adult personality, including whether current circumstances amplify or attenuate the associations with early experiences.