Citation

Dennissen JJ, Asendorpf JB, van Aken MA. J. Pers. 2008; 76(1): 67-99.

Affiliation

Humboldt-University Berlin, Institute for Psychology, Unter den Linden 6, D-10099 Berlin, Germany. jjadenissen@gmail.com

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00480.x

PMID

18186711

Abstract

In a 19-year longitudinal study, childhood personality characteristics (assessed by teachers at ages 4 to 6) were significantly related to both initial levels and changes in parental judgments of shyness and aggressiveness. Long-term stability was demonstrated by the fact that overcontrollers had consistently higher scores in shyness and undercontrollers in aggressiveness. However, undercontrollers' shyness and overcontrollers' aggressiveness changed over time from a low to a high level. Also, both types assumed adult social roles, such as leaving the parental home, establishing a first romantic relationship, and getting a part-time job, at a later time than the resilient participants. A mediation analysis indicated that under- and overcontrollers' increasing aggressiveness between age 17 and 23 was due to their longer latency of getting a part-time job. Together, results demonstrate the importance of considering person-environment transactions in explaining both change and stability in personality between childhood and adulthood.

Language: en