Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:51:48.690Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Childhood personality as a harbinger of competence and resilience in adulthood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2012

Rebecca L. Shiner  and
Ann S. Masten
Rebecca L. Shiner*
Affiliation:
Colgate University
Ann S. Masten
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Rebecca L. Shiner, Department of Psychology, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346; E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study examined the significance of childhood Big Five personality traits for competence and resilience in early adulthood. Resilience was defined in terms of adaptive success in age-salient developmental tasks despite significant adversity throughout childhood/adolescence. The Project Competence Longitudinal Study tracked 205 young people from childhood (around age 10) to emerging adulthood (EA, age 20) and young adulthood (YA, age 30; 90% retention). Multimethod composites were created for personality traits, adversity exposure, and adult outcomes of academic achievement, work, rule-abiding conduct, friendship, and romantic relationships. Regressions showed significant main effects of childhood personality predicting adult outcomes, controlling for adversity, with few interaction effects. In person-focused analyses, the resilient group in EA and YA (high competence, high adversity) showed higher childhood conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness and lower neuroticism than the maladaptive group (low competence, high adversity). The competent (high competence, low adversity) and resilient groups showed similar childhood traits. Turnaround cases, who changed from the maladaptive group in EA to the resilient group in YA, exhibited higher childhood conscientiousness than persistently maladaptive peers. Findings suggest that children on pathways to success in adulthood, whether facing low or high adversity, have capacities for emotion regulation, empathy and connection, dedication to schoolwork, and mastery and exploration.

Type
Special Section Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 2012 , pp. 507 - 528
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T. M. (1997). Manual for the Young Adult Self-Report and Young Adult Behavior Checklist. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bates, J. E., Schermerhorn, A. C., & Petersen, I. T. (in press). Temperament and parenting in developmental perspective. In Zentner, M. & Shiner, R. L. (Eds.), Handbook of temperament. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., Bakermans-Kranenburg, J. M., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2007). For better or for worse: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 30–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blair, C. (2010). Stress and the development of self-regulation in context. Child Development Perspectives, 4, 181–188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blair, C., & Diamond, A. (2008). Biological processes in prevention and intervention: The promotion of self-regulation as a means of preventing school failure. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 899–911.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyce, C. J., & Wood, A. M. (2011). Personality prior to disability determines adaptation: Agreeable individuals recover lost life satisfaction faster and more completely. Psychological Science, 22, 1397–1402.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burt, K. B., & Masten, A. S. (2009). Development in the transition to adulthood: Vulnerabilities and opportunities. In Grant, J. E. & Potenza, M. N. (Eds.), Young adult mental health (pp. 5–18). New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caspi, A., Roberts, B. W., & Shiner, R. L. (2005). Personality development: Stability and change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453–484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caspi, A., & Shiner, R. L. (2006). Personality development. In Damon, W. & Lerner, R. (Series Eds.) & Eisenberg, N. (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 300–365). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Connor-Smith, J. K., & Flachsbart, C. (2007). Relations between personality and coping: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 1080–1107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coplan, R. J., & Bullock, A. (in press). Temperament and peer relationships. In Zentner, M. & Shiner, R. L. (Eds.), Handbook of temperament. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
DeYoung, C. G. (2006). Higher-order factors of the Big Five in a multi-informant sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1138–1151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Digman, J. M. (1997). Higher-order factors of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1246–1256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donnellan, M. B., Conger, K. J., McAdams, K. K., & Neppl, T. K. (2009). Personality characteristics and resilience to economic hardship and its consequences: Conceptual issues and empirical illustrations. Journal of Personality, 77, 1645–1675.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duckworth, A. L., & Allred, K. M. (in press). Temperament in the classroom. In Zentner, M. & Shiner, R. L. (Eds.), Handbook of temperament. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Markwardt, F. C. (1970). Peabody Individual Achievement Test. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Egeland, B., Carlson, E. A., & Sroufe, L. A. (1993). Resilience as process. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 517–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, B. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2011). Differential susceptibility to the environment: Toward an understanding of sensitivity to developmental experiences and context. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., Goldsmith, H. H., & Van Hulle, C. (2006). Gender differences in temperament: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 33–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Finkelman, D., Ferrarese, M. J., & Garmezy, N. (1989). A factorial, reliability, and validity study of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale. Psychological Reports, 64, 535–547.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garmezy, N. (1985). Strress-resistant children: The search for protective factors. In Stevenson, J. E. (Ed.), Recent research in developmental psychopathology: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry book supplement (pp. 213–233). Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (1984). The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for developmental psychology. Child Development, 55, 97–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garmezy, N., & Tellegen, A. (1984). Studies of stress-resistant children: Methods, variables, and preliminary findings. In Morrison, F., Keating, D., & Lord, C. (Eds.), Applied developmental psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 231–387). New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gest, S. D., Reed, M.-G., & Masten, A. S. (1999). Measuring developmental changes in exposure to adversity: A Life Chart and rating scale approach. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 171–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, L. R. (2001). Analyses of Digman's child-personality data: Derivation of Big Five factor scores from each of six samples. Journal of Personality, 69, 709–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, D, Atkins, R., & Matsuba, M. K. (2008). The association of neighborhood poverty with personality change in childhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 1048–1061.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harter, S. (1986). Manual: Self-perception profile for adolescents. Unpublished manuscript, University of Denver.Google Scholar
Hauser, R. M., & Featherman, D. L. (1977). The process of stratification: Trends and analysis. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Herbers, J. E., Cutuli, J. J., Lafavor, T. L., Vrieze, D., Leibel, C., Obradović, J., et al. (2011). Direct and indirect effects of parenting on academic functioning of young homeless children. Early Education and Development, 22, 77–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendall, P. C., Pellegrini, D. S., & Urbain, E. S. (1981). Approaches to assessment for cognitive–behavioral interventions for children. In Kendall, P. C. & Hollon, S. D. (Eds.), Assessment strategies for cognitive–behavioral interventions with children (pp. 227–285). New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim-Cohen, J., & Gold, A. L. (2009). Measured gene–environment interactions and mechanisms promoting resilient development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 138–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, K. M., Molina, B. S. G., & Chassin, L. (2008). A state-trait model of negative life event occurrence in adolescence: Predictors of stability in the occurrence of stressors. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37, 848–859.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laursen, B., Hafen, C. A., Rubin, K H., Booth-LaForce, C., & Rose-Krasnor, L. (2010). The distinctive difficulties of disagreeable youth. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 56, 80–103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lengua, L. J., & Wachs, T. D. (in press). Temperament and risk: Resilient and vulnerable responses to adversity. In Zentner, M. & Shiner, R. L. (Eds.), Handbook of temperament. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Luecken, L. J., & Gress, J. L. (2010). Early adversity and resilience in emerging adulthood. In Reich, J. W., Zautra, A. J., & Hall, J. S. (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience (pp. 238–257). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Luthar, S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543–562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luthar, S. S. (2006). Resilience in development: A synthesis of research across five decades. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (2nd ed., pp. 739–795). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Martinez-Torteya, C., Bogat, G. A., von Eye, A., & Levendosky, A. A. (2009). Resilience among children exposed to domestic violence: The role of risk and protective factors. Child Development, 80, 562–577.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56, 227–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (2007). Resilience in developing systems: Progress and promise as the fourth wave rises. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 921–930.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (2011). Resilience in children threatened by extreme adversity: Frameworks for research, practice, and translational synergy. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 493–506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (in press). Risk and resilience in development. In Zelazo, P. D. (Ed.), Oxford handbook of developmental psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Burt, K. B., Roisman, G. I., Obradović, J., Long, J. D., & Tellegen, A. (2004). Resources and resilience in the transition to adulthood: Continuity and change. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 1071–1094.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments: Lessons from research on successful children. American Psychologist, 53, 205–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Coatsworth, J. D., Neemann, J., Gest, S. D., Tellegen, A., & Garmezy, N. (1995). The structure and coherence of competence from childhood through adolescence. Child Development, 66, 1635–1659.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Desjardins, C. D., McCormick, C. M., Kuo, S. I-C., & Long, J. D. (2010). The significance of childhood competence and problems for adult success in work: A developmental cascade analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 679–694.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., Garmezy, N., Tellegen, A., Pellegrini, D. S., Larkin, K., & Larsen, A. (1988). Competence and stress in school children: The moderating effects of individual and family qualities. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 29, 745–764.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Hubbard, J. J., Gest, S. D., Tellegen, A., Garmezy, N., & Ramirez, M. L. (1999). Competence in the context of adversity: Pathways to resilience and maladaptation from childhood to late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 143–169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Morison, P., & Pellegrini, D. S. (1985). A revised class method of peer assessment. Developmental Psychology, 21, 523–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., Obradović, J., & Burt, K. (2006). Resilience in emerging adulthood: Developmental perspectives on continuity and transformation. In Arnett, J. J. & Tanner, J. L. (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century (pp. 173–190). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Powell, J. L. (2003). A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice. In Luthar, S. S. (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 1–25). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Roisman, G. I., Long, J. D., Burt, K. B., Obradović, J., Riley, J. R., et al. (2005). Developmental cascades: Linking academic achievement and externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years. Developmental Psychology, 41, 733–746.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (2012). Resilience in developmental psychopathology: Contributions of the Project Competence Longitudinal Study. Development and Psychopathology, 24, 345–361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McClowry, S., & Collins, A. (in press). Temperament-based intervention: Reconceptualized from a response to intervention framework. In Zentner, M. & Shiner, R. L. (Eds.), Handbook of temperament. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
McCormick, C. M., Kuo, S. I.-C., & Masten, A. S. (2011). Developmental tasks across the lifespan. In Fingerman, K. L., Berg, C. A., Smith, J., & Antonucci, T. C. (Eds.), Handbook of lifespan development (pp. 117–140). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Mezulis, A. H., Hyde, J. S., & Abramson, L. Y. (2006). The developmental origins of cognitive vulnerability to depression: Temperament, parenting, and negative life events in childhood as contributors to negative cognitive style. Developmental Psychology, 42, 1012–1025.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., et al. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, 2693–2698.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morison, P., & Masten, A. S. (1991). Peer reputation in middle childhood as a predictor of adaptation in adolescence: A seven-year follow-up. Child Development, 62, 991–1007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Neemann, J., & Harter, S. (1986). Manual for the self-perception profile for college students. Unpublished manuscript, University of Denver.Google Scholar
Noam, G. G., & Hermann, C. A. (2002). Where education and mental health meet: Developmetnal prevention and early intervention in schools. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 861–875.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obradović, J., Burt, K. B., & Masten, A. S. (2010). Testing a dual cascade model linking competence and symptoms over 20 years from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 90–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obradović, J., Shaffer, A., & Masten, A. S. (in press). Risk in developmental psychopathology: Progress and future directions. In Mayes, L. C. & Lewis, M. (Eds.), The environment of human development: A handbook of theory and measurement. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Roberts, B. W., & DelVecchio, W. F. (2000). The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 30–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, B. W., Kuncel, N. R., Shiner, R. L., Caspi, A., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007), The power of personality: The comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspectives in Psychological Science, 2, 313–345.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roisman, G. I., Masten, A. S., Coatsworth, J. D., & Tellegen, A. (2004). Salient and emerging developmental tasks in the transition to adulthood. Child Development, 75, 123–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rothbart, M. K. (2011). Becoming who we are: Temperament and personality in development. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Rothbart, M. K., & Bates, J. E. (2006). Temperament. In Damon, W., & Lerner, R. (Series Eds.) & Eisenberg, N. (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 99–166). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1987). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 316–331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sameroff, A. J. (2000). Developmental systems and psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 297–312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sapienza, J. K., & Masten, A. S. (2011). Understanding and promoting resilience in children and youth. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 24, 267–273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seery, M. D., Holman, E. A., & Silver, R. C. (2010). Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative life adversity, vulnerability, and resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 1025–1041.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shiner, R. L. (1998). How shall we speak of children's personalities in middle childhood?: A preliminary taxonomy. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 308–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L. (2000). Linking childhood personality with adaptation: Evidence for continuity and change across time into late adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 310–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L., & Caspi, A. (2003). Personality differences in childhood and adolescence: Measurement, development, and consequences. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 44, 2–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L., & DeYoung, C. G. (in press). The structure of temperament and personality traits: A developmental perspective. In Zelazo, P. (Ed.), Oxford handbook of developmental psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shiner, R. L., & Masten, A. S. (2008). Personality in childhood: A bridge from early temperament to adult outcomes. European Journal for Developmental Science, 2, 158–175.Google Scholar
Shiner, R. L., Masten, A. S., & Roberts, J. M. (2003). Childhood personality foreshadows adult personality and life outcomes two decades later. Journal of Personality, 71, 1145–1170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (2002). A developmental perspective on personality in emerging adulthood: Childhood antecedents and concurrent adaptation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1165–1177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spivack, G., & Swift, M. (1967). Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale manual. Devon, PA: Devereux Foundation.Google Scholar
Steinberg, L. (2009). Should the science of adolescent brain development inform public policy? American Psychologist, 64, 739–750.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thapar, A., Harold, G., Rice, F., Langley, K., & O'Donovan, M. (2007). The contribution of gene–environment interaction to psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 989–1004.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waters, E., & Sroufe, L. A. (1983). Social competence as a developmental construct. Developmental Review, 3, 79–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, E. E. (1996). Vulnerable but invincible: High risk children from birth to adulthood. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 5(Suppl. 1), 47–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A study of resilient children. New York: McGraw–Hill.Google Scholar
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (2001). Journeys from childhood to midlife: Risk, resilience, and recovery. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. S., Schiefele, U., Roeser, R. W., & Davis-Kean, P. (2006). Development of achievement motivation. In Damon, W. & Lerner, R. (Series Eds.) & Eisenberg, N. (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 933–1002). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Williams, P. G., Rau, H. K., Cribbet, M. R., & Gunn, H. E. (2009). Openness to experience and stress regulation. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 777–784.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yates, T. M., Egeland, B., & Sroufe, L. A. (2003). Rethinking resilience: A developmental process perspective. In Luthar, S. S. (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 243–266). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zentner, M., & Shiner, R. L. (Eds.). (in press). The handbook of temperament. New York. Guilford Press.Google Scholar