Part 2/13:
Interestingly, prepubescent boys and girls exhibit remarkably similar personality profiles. Traits such as neuroticism — a tendency toward negative emotional states — don't show significant differences before puberty. However, once puberty begins, a divergence becomes apparent: women's neuroticism scores tend to rise and remain higher throughout their lives compared to men.
This increase correlates strongly with sex-specific patterns of psychopathology. Men are disproportionately affected by issues such as alcoholism, drug abuse, antisocial behaviors, attention deficit disorder, and learning disabilities. Conversely, women are overrepresented in depression and anxiety, disorders tightly linked with elevated neuroticism levels.