Conscientiousness: Conceptualization, Measurement, Correlates, and Gender Differences.

Conscientiousness is one of the factors identified in the Five Factor Model of Personality, and is characterized by a combination of the following traits: competence, order, Dutifulness, Achievement Striving, self-discipline, and deliberateness. The present study was designed to review the concept of conscientiousness, and examine its psychometric properties, measurements, correlation, and genders differences. This study used five independent samples with the total of (6720) undergraduates (male=3035 & female=3685) from Kuwait University students to assess reliability, factorial validity & convergent & divergent validity, and gender differences. The alpha Cronbach scale coefficient is ranged between 0.71 and 0.90 for males with a median of 0.77 and between 0.65 to 0.92  for females with a median of 0.76. The explanatory factor analysis of NEO-PI-C extracts one factor, three factors from BFI-C, between 3 factors from IPIP-C, and 3 factors extracted from BFQ-C. The results also revealed that Conscientiousness was positively correlated to extraversion, agreeableness, and open-mindedness, while it was negatively correlated to neuroticism in all the measures used. A significant gender difference was reported in Conscientiousness, where males scored higher than females in NEO-PI-C & BFI-C, while females scored higher than males in IPIP-C & BFQ-C.