A reciprocal perspective on the differential associations between personality traits and multiple indicators of academic achievement

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the reciprocal associations between personality traits (conscientiousness and openness to experience) and academic achievement in adolescents, using the Personality Achievement Saturation Hypothesis (PASH).

BACKGROUND

Personality traits, especially conscientiousness, and openness, have been identified as strong predictors of academic achievement. The PASH provides a framework for understanding these relationships but has mainly been studied from a unidirectional perspective. This study extends the PASH to examine reciprocal associations and how they vary with different achievement indicators.

METHODS

Using large-scale panel data (N = 6482) of secondary school students in Germany, we applied cross-lagged panel models and latent change score models to examine the differential reciprocal associations between personality traits (conscientiousness/openness) and academic achievement (school grades/achievement test scores) in language and math over two years from grades 7 to 9.

RESULTS

In line with the PASH, initial levels of conscientiousness were more strongly associated with school grades than with achievement test scores over two years. Simultaneously, prior school grades were more strongly associated with conscientiousness over two years. However, initial levels of openness did not show differential associations with either school grades or achievement test scores over two years. Similarly, prior school grades and achievement test scores were also not differentially associated with openness over two years.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings introduce an innovative lens through which we observe how the PASH can be leveraged to explain the differential reciprocal associations between conscientiousness and academic achievement. Further research is needed to examine if PASH could be similarly extended to disentangle the associations between openness and academic achievement.

The influence of socio-economic status on child temperament and psychological symptom profiles

The influence of socio-economic status (SES) on child temperament and psychological symptoms was examined using a nationally representative sample in Singapore. Data were available for 2169 children from 1987 families. Caregivers' reports were obtained on children aged 4-6. SES was operationalized as an aggregation of household income per capita, parental education level and housing type. Compared to their counterparts from higher SES families, children from low-SES families tended to exhibit (a) higher negative affectivity but lower effortful control, and (b) higher internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In addition, children with a 'resilient' temperamental profile (i.e. low negative affectivity and high effortful control) were more likely to come from families with much higher SES, relative to children with other profiles. Children with high internalizing symptoms tended to come from low-SES backgrounds, regardless of their externalizing symptoms. Among children with low internalizing symptoms, those with high externalizing symptoms came from lower SES backgrounds compared to those with low externalizing symptoms. Parental warmth and distress mediated the association between SES and child temperament and symptom profiles, with the exception of distress in the SES-temperament link. These findings supported the family stress model and highlighted the novel perspective of SES's influence on configurations of child temperament and symptom characteristics.

The employment expectations of adolescents: Examining the role of social origin, parental support, and personality traits

Early life course conditions and the social origin of families frequently influence the inequalities people experience in adulthood. The transition from education to work is a challenging period during which adolescents make their first employment-related choices and establish the course of their careers. Future expectations guide adolescents' employment-related choices and are assumed to influence future employment outcomes. Therefore, this paper investigates whether family (dis)advantages affect adolescents' employment expectations. We assess various underlying mechanisms that may influence the relationship between social origin and adolescents' employment expectations by using cross-sectional data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP: 2006-2018), specifically a youth questionnaire administered at age 17. Three key findings emerge. First, family disadvantages, particularly an insecure parental labor market participation, influence the employment expectations of adolescents negatively. Second, supportive parenting does not mediate the relationship between social origin and the employment expectations of adolescents; instead, it functions as an additional positive factor. Third, supportive parenting creates more optimistic employment expectations because it fosters specific "beneficial" personality traits, such as extraversion, conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, and internal control beliefs.

Perceiver Effects and Socioeconomic Background: Contrasting Parent-Reports against Teacher-Reports of Elementary School Students' Personality

Familial socioeconomic background can impact not only academic success, but also the personality of offspring. Yet, there is little evidence on whether it might influence how parents describe their children's personality. To fill this gap, we used latent multitrait-multimethod (CTCM-1) models to examine familial socioeconomic background as possible predictor of parental perceiver effects regarding their offspring's personality by contrasting parental assessments against teacher-reports. Study 1 (N = 5,798) investigated reports on elementary school students' Big Five and Study 2 (N = 3,771) focused on school-related personality facets. Socioeconomic status predicted the parental report in both studies. Participation in high-culture arts incrementally predicted parental report over and above socioeconomic status. Specifically, parents with higher participation in high-culture arts rated their children in a more positive light than class teachers. These background specific perceiver effects might reflect both varying personality judgments or actual differences in behavior.

Does Grit Compensate for Family Background Disadvantage in Predicting Mental Health Difficulties? A Longitudinal Study of Chinese Migrant and Urban Children

The significant population of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children has sparked considerable domestic and international concern regarding their disadvantaged family circumstances and their escalating prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems. Derived from the resource substitution hypothesis, non-cognitive factors such as personality traits may act as "substitution" resources for educational outcomes of children from less privileged families. Yet, the compensatory role of personality traits as substitution resources in children's mental health has received limited attention, including that of migrant children. This study examined the interplay of trait-like grit and family SES on emotional and conduct problems among Chinese migrant and urban children. The current sample consisted of 770 migrant children (Mage = 10.45 and SDage = 0.68 years; 38.4% girls) and their 222 urban counterparts (Mage = 10.34 and SDage = 0.46 years; 45.5% girls). Moderated polynomial regressions with response surface analysis on a two-wave data with an interval of over six months showed that grit served as a "substitution" resource for the less socioeconomically advantaged children. The compensatory effect of perseverance of effort on urban children's emotional problems and that of consistency of interest on migrant children's conduct problems were visualized. Moreover, the two compensatory effects were found to be robust and unique, even after children's effortful control, a grit-related construct, was taken into account. These findings not only support the resource substitution hypothesis, but also underscore the protective role that grit plays in children under less privileged environments.

Modulation of dog-owner relationship and dog social and cognitive behavior by owner temperament and dog breed group

As companion dogs spend most of their lives with humans, the human-dog relationship and owner temperament may affect the dog behavior. In this study (n = 440), we investigated the relationship between the dog owner temperament (ATQ-R), owner-perceived dog-owner relationship (MDORS) and the dog behavior in three behavioral tests: the object-choice test, the unsolvable task, and the cylinder test. Dog owner temperament influenced the dog-owner relationship. Owners with high negative affectivity showed higher emotional closeness and perceived costs of their dog, whereas owners with high effortful control showed lower emotional closeness and perceived costs. Higher dog activity during the behavioral tests was also connected with owner-perceived lower emotional closeness. Furthermore, dog breed group modulated the connection between the owner temperament and dog behavior. Owner's high negative affectivity correlated with herding dogs' lower scores in the object choice test, while the behavior of primitive type dogs was unaffected by the owner temperament. Our results confirm that human characteristics are associated with the owner-reported dog-owner relationship, and owner temperament may have a modulatory effect on the dog social and cognitive behavior depending on the dog breed group, which should be investigated further.

Changing associations between socioeconomic status and self-reported discrimination from the 1990s to the 2010s in the United States

We examined whether prevalence of social class discrimination-and its association with psychological distress-has changed between 1990s and 2010s in the United States. Data were from the original Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study with data collections in 1995-1996 (n = 2931) and 2004-2005 (n = 1708), and the new MIDUS Refresher sample from 2011 to 2014 (n = 2543). Socioeconomic status (SES) became more strongly associated with self-rated discrimination over time, with individuals with the lowest SES experiencing more discrimination (B = 0.75, p < .001) and those with the highest SES less discrimination (B = 0.36, p < .001) over time: at baseline, the difference in self-rated discrimination between the highest and lowest SES groups was 15.3% versus 10.8% (4.7% point difference). This difference increased to 20.0% versus 7.4% in the last study wave (12.6% point difference). Association between self-reported discrimination and psychological distress strengthened over time, but the associations between socioeconomic indicators and distress did not change. The results suggest that people with low SES had higher risk of encountering unfair and disrespectful treatment in the 2010s compared to the 1990s.

Applying the Psychology of Working Theory for Understanding Adaptive Career Progress of Youth

This study extends existing research on psychology of working theory by assessing components of the model among two community samples (N = 364) of high school youth. We examined structural models linking student perceptions of external barriers to higher education to three indices of adaptive career progress, work volition, career adaptability, and school motivation. We also assessed the roles of student perceptions of proactive personality, critical motivation, and teacher social support as moderators of perceived external barriers for the three career progress indices. The findings reveal main effects, rather than moderating contributions for critical motivation and proactive personality, with only teacher support being a significant moderator for career adaptability and work volition. The moderating effect was inconsistent with theoretical expectations, however. The results are discussed with attention to further research and applicability for vocational intervention.

Associations between depressive symptoms with perceived future time and opportunities: tests of unique prediction and moderation

OBJECTIVES

Having a broadened perspective on one's future has been associated with better affective well-being, including reduced reports of depressive symptoms. However, research is limited regarding which aspect of future time perspective is associated with depressive symptoms, and whether these findings are consistent across individuals.

METHODS

The current study employed data from a nationally representative sample of Swiss adults (n = 1774; mean age: 49.90 years; 51.8% female). Participants completed measures of future time perspective - both perceptions of future time and future opportunities - and depressive symptoms, in addition to reporting on their age, sex, health, and socioeconomic status (the moderators of interest).

RESULTS

Perceived future time and future opportunities were uniquely predictive of depressive symptoms, even when controlling for chronological age and other covariates, though future opportunities held a stronger association with depressive symptoms. Limited evidence was found for moderation, though opportunities may matter more for predicting depressive symptoms among adults in worse health and those with fewer resources.

DISCUSSION

Future time perspective appears moderately associated with depressive symptoms in adulthood, and researchers need to consider multiple aspects of future time perspective rather than as a unitary construct.

Cumulative Childhood Adversity and Its Associations With Mental Health in Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood in Rural China

Capitalizing on a 15-year longitudinal dataset of 9-12 years old children in rural China, this study adopts a life course perspective and analyzes cumulative childhood adversity and its associations with mental health problems from childhood to adulthood. Four domains of childhood life are selected to construct cumulative childhood adversity: socioeconomic hardship, family disruption, physical issue, and academic setback. Overall, cumulative childhood adversity significantly associates with children's internalizing and externalizing problems as well as adults' depression and self-esteem. However, cumulative childhood adversity has no significant relationship with internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. Furthermore, different domains of childhood adversity matter differently for mental health problems in different life stages. Physical issue and academic setback have the strongest association with internalizing and externalizing problems in childhood, while only socioeconomic hardship has a significant relationship with depression and self-esteem in adulthood. The relationship between cumulative childhood adversity and adult mental health problems is fully mediated by educational attainment. Finally, there is no gender difference in either the occurrence of cumulative childhood adversity or the association between cumulative childhood adversity and mental health problems.

Personality Characteristics and Emotional Distress Among Chinese Pregnant Women: A Moderated Mediation Model

Previous studies have suggested that certain personality characteristics are associated with emotional distress during pregnancy. However, the underlying mechanism of this association is rarely understood. The current study investigated the links between personality and pregnant women's emotional distress (depressive and anxiety symptoms), tested the chain mediating effects of two resilience factors-social support and positive coping, and explored whether socioeconomic status (SES) could moderate the effects (including direct and/or indirect effects) of personality on their emotional distress. Results of a relatively large sample of pregnant women in China (N = 1157) showed positive associations for psychoticism and neuroticism with depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as negative associations for extraversion with depression and anxiety. After controlling for four important variables (the first pregnancy or not, having adverse pregnancy experience or not, being pregnant as planned or not, and number of weeks of pregnancy), social support and positive coping acted as chain mediators on the associations of personality with depressive symptoms as well as of personality with anxiety. Overall, the association of personality and depressive symptoms demonstrated invariance across socioeconomic status (SES). However, SES moderated the relationship between personality and anxiety. Specifically, the negative association of positive coping with anxiety symptoms was weaker for low SES women than for high SES ones. Results highlight the importance of social support and positive coping to decrease personality-related depressive and anxiety symptom among pregnant women. Furthermore, identifying other resilience factors that alleviate anxiety in women with low SES is urgently called for.

Pathways from early life SES to dementia risk in old age: The role of personality

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the association between childhood socioeconomic status (cSES) and risk of cognitive impairment in older adulthood, and whether Five Factor Model personality traits mediated this association.

METHODS

A sample of 9,995 participants (mean age = 67.01 years) from the Health and Retirement Study were followed every two years from 2006 to 2018. cSES was tested as a predictor of risk of dementia and risk of cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND). Personality was tested as a mediator of these associations. Models were adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, race, education, and baseline year.

RESULTS

Although effect sizes were modest, results indicated that lower cSES was associated with higher risk of dementia (HR=0.88, [0.775, 0.985]). Higher cSES was also associated with higher Conscientiousness and lower Neuroticism. Conscientiousness and Neuroticism each accounted for 7.9% of the total effect of cSES on dementia. Results were similar for CIND.

CONCLUSIONS

Early childhood socioeconomic factors may contribute to cognitive impairment in older adulthood, an association mediated, in part, through adult personality traits.

Two Forms of Social Inequality in Students' Socio-Emotional Skills: Do the Levels of Big Five Personality Traits and Their Associations With Academic Achievement Depend on Parental Socioeconomic Status?

Some researchers and policymakers advocate a stronger focus on fostering socio-emotional skills in the hope of helping students to succeed academically, especially those who are socially disadvantaged. Others have cautioned that this might increase, rather than reduce, social inequality because personality traits conducive to achievement are themselves unevenly distributed in disfavor of socially disadvantaged students. Our paper contributes to this debate. Analyzing representative, large-scale data on 9,300 ninth graders from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) and using the Big Five personality traits as a measure of socio-emotional skills, we cast light on two related yet distinct aspects of social inequality in socio-emotional skills: First, do levels of personality traits conducive to achievement vary as a function of students' parental socioeconomic status (pSES)? Second, do the returns to personality traits in terms of trait–achievement relations vary as function of pSES? Results showed that differences in Big Five traits between students with different pSES were small (0.04 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.09), especially when compared with pSES-related differences in cognitive skills (fluid intelligence) and sex-related differences in personality. The returns to Conscientiousness—the personality trait most relevant to achievement—in terms of its relations to academic achievement were higher in higher- vs. lower-SES students. Trait–achievement relations did not vary as a function of pSES for the other Big Five traits. Overall, both types of inequality were limited in magnitude. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy and practice and delineate directions for further research.

Self-reported and mother-rated personality traits at age 16 are associated with cognitive function measured concurrently and 30 years later

BACKGROUND

Models of personality and health suggest that personality contributes to health outcomes across adulthood. Personality traits, such as neuroticism and conscientiousness, have long-term predictive power for cognitive impairment in older adulthood, a critical health outcome. Less is known about whether personality measured earlier in life is also associated with cognition across adulthood prior to dementia.

METHODS

Using data from the British Cohort Study 1970 (N = 4218; 58% female), the current research examined the relation between self-reported and mother-rated personality at age 16 and cognitive function concurrently at age 16 and cognitive function measured 30 years later at age 46, and whether these traits mediate the relation between childhood social class and midlife cognition.

RESULTS

Self-reported and mother-rated conscientiousness at age 16 were each associated with every cognitive measure at age 16 and most measures at age 46. Self-reported openness was likewise associated with better cognitive performance on all tasks at age 16 and prospectively predicted age 46 performance (mothers did not rate openness). Mother-rated agreeableness, but not self-reported, was associated with better cognitive performance at both time points. Adolescent personality mediated the relation between childhood social class and midlife cognitive function.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study advances personality and cognition by showing that (1) adolescent personality predicts midlife cognition 30 years later, (2) both self-reports and mother-ratings are important sources of information on personality associated with midlife cognition, and (3) adolescent personality may be one pathway through which the early life socioeconomic environment is associated with midlife cognition.

Growth all along the road? Personality development and international contacts of (in)experienced sojourners

International student mobility (ISM) is an important educational means to promote the international (job market) potential of university students. Beyond that, it constitutes a context of personality development in young adulthood. With the present research, we tried to integrate the perspectives of applied and personality research in addressing the following questions. First, we scrutinized the robustness of ISM effects on personality development as we controlled for effects of sociodemographic characteristics and implemented a waiting group design ( N = 3070). Second, we explored ISM anticipation effects as well as the moderation of ISM effects by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, in view of the public discourse on the benefits of “Erasmus crowds”, we assessed the roles of international and host relationships with regard to the personality development of sojourners. The results largely corroborated the robustness of ISM effects on personality development. No ISM anticipation effects occurred, and effects of current ISM engagement were largely unaffected by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, international contact experiences were associated with personality development above and beyond effects of host country contacts. Implications for the understanding of personality development and potential inferences for the organization and improvement of ISM programs are discussed.

The Relationship Between Gambling Problems and the Five-Factor Model of Personality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: The aim of the present meta-analysis was to synthesize results from the association between problem gambling (PG) and dimensions of the five factor model of personality and to identify potential moderators (gambling diagnosis: yes/no, comorbidity: yes/no and trait assessment: four or fewer items vs. five items or more) of these associations in meta-regressions. Methods: Searches were conducted in six databases; Medline, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, and Cochrane Library (conducted on February, 22, 2021). Included studies: (1) reported a relationship between PG and at least one of the personality traits in the five-factor model, (2) contained information of zero-order correlations or sufficient data for such calculations, and (3) were original articles published in any European language. Case-studies, qualitative studies, and reviews were excluded. All articles were independently screened by two authors. Final agreement was reached through discussion or by consulting a third author. Risk of bias of the included studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data were synthesized using a random effects model. Results: In total 28 studies, comprising 20,587 participants, were included. The correlations between PG and the traits were as follows: Neuroticism: 0.273 (95% CI = 0.182, 0.358), conscientiousness -0.296 (95% CI = -0.400, -0.185), agreeableness -0.163 (95% CI = -0.223, -0.101), openness -0.219 (95% CI = -0.308, -0.127), and extroversion -0.083 (95% CI = -0.120, -0.046). For all meta-analyses the between study heterogeneity was significant. Presence of gambling diagnosis was the only moderator that significantly explained between-study variance showing a more negative correlation to extroversion when participants had a gambling diagnosis compared to when this was not the case. Discussion: The results indicated some publication bias. Correcting for this by a trim-and-fill procedure showed however that the findings were consistent. Clinicians and researchers should be aware of the associations between personality traits and PG. Previous studies have for example showed neuroticism to be related to treatment relapse, low scores on conscientiousness to predict treatment drop-out and agreeableness to reduce risk of treatment drop-out. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021237225).

A Systematic Overview of Meta-Analyses on Socioeconomic Status, Cognitive Ability, and Achievement: The Need to Focus on Specific Pathways

Meta-analyses on the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and performance on measures of cognitive ability and achievement arrive at the same general conclusion of a small to medium association. Advancements in methods make possible for meta-analyses to examine specific pathways linking SES to cognitive ability and achievement, as well as the moderators of these pathways. In this study, we conducted a systematic overview of meta-analyses on SES to address three research questions: 1) what is the direction and overall strength of association between SES and performance on measures of cognitive ability and achievement, and how precise are the effect sizes reported? 2) to what extent have meta-analyses examined moderation by components of SES, age, sex, and race/ethnicity? and 3) to what extent have meta-analyses examined mechanisms linking SES to cognitive ability and achievement? We conducted a systematic search using online archives (i.e., PsycINFO, ERIC, PubMed, Sociological Abstracts, and Web of Science), searching issues in Psychological Bulletin and Review of Educational Research, and examining references and citations. We identified 14 meta-analyses published between 1982 and 2019. These meta-analyses consistently reported positive associations of small to medium magnitude, indicating that SES is a meaningful contributor to the development of cognitive ability and achievement. Fewer meta-analyses reported evidence of moderation by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. None of the meta-analyses directly examined mechanisms, but provided evidence of possible mechanisms for future research. We suggest that meta-analyses can increase their contribution to future research, interventions, and policy by narrowing their focus on specific pathways.

Adolescent college expectation and nutritional health in adulthood: The hidden power of social position

Few studies investigated whether expected college attendance in adolescence may generate comparable health benefits in early adulthood for the disadvantaged and the privileged. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examined the contingent associations of college attendance expectation with weekly fast food consumption (FFC), sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (SBC), physical activity (PA), and obesity in early adulthood based on four social position indicators: family poverty, neighborhood poverty, parental education, and race. Results suggested that family poverty, neighborhood poverty, and low parental education significantly compromised college expectation's associations with all outcomes except for PA. Further, college expectation's negative associations with FFC and SBC were lower for Blacks than for Whites; and college expectation's negative association with SBC and positive association with PA were lower for Hispanics than for Whites. These findings imply that the "ambition inflation" among American youth, often celebrated by the American culture for its acclaimed life changing power, may be not equally benefiting the disadvantaged and the privileged. Future behavioral interventions focusing on fostering a positive outlook in youth should consider possible effect heterogeneity based on social background.

Big Five Personality Traits Predict Successful Transitions From School to Vocational Education and Training: A Large-Scale Study

Educational transitions play a pivotal role in shaping educational careers, and ultimately social inequality. Whereas parental socioeconomic status (SES) and cognitive ability have long been identified as key determinants of successful educational transitions, much less is known about the role of socio-emotional skills. To address this gap, the present study investigated whether Big Five personality traits predict success in the transition from secondary school to vocational education and training (VET) above and beyond SES, cognitive ability, and other covariates. Using data from Starting Cohort 4 of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; N = 4,137), we defined seven indicators of successful transition: obtaining a VET position, number of acceptances for VET positions, starting a VET position, (the absence of) dropout intentions and actual dropout, final VET grade, and satisfaction with VET. The results revealed that some Big Five traits were incrementally associated with several indicators of transition success. Conscientiousness emerged as the single most relevant trait, predicting all the transition success indicators but 1 (dropout intentions). The other Big Five traits had much weaker and less consistent links with transition success. Extraversion predicted the final VET grade and obtaining a VET position; Agreeableness was linked to a higher risk of dropout. Openness and Emotional Stability had no incremental effects on transition success. There was also some evidence for both compensatory and synergistic interactive effects, with Openness moderating mainly the effects of parental SES (on dropout intentions, actual dropout, and number of acceptances), and Agreeableness moderating the effects of cognitive ability (on obtaining a VET position, number of acceptances, and satisfaction with VET). Although individual effect sizes were small, the Big Five’s joint contribution to transition success was non-negligible, and often larger than that of sociodemographic characteristics and cognitive ability. Our results suggest a hitherto underappreciated contribution of personality to successful transitions to VET.

Family sociodemographic resources moderate the path from toddlers' hard-to-manage temperament to parental control to disruptive behavior in middle childhood

Research inspired by ecological perspectives has amply documented broad effects of the family's sociodemographic resources on children's outcomes, with parents' young age, low education, and low income considered risk factors. Typically, sociodemographic characteristics have been studied as influencing child outcomes either directly or indirectly through parenting. We tested a more nuanced longitudinal model in a community sample of 102 infants, mothers, and fathers. We conceptualized family sociodemographic resources, measured as a composite of parents' ages, education, and income, as moderating developmental cascades from children's hard-to-manage temperament to parental power-assertive control to children's disruptive behavior problems. Children's temperament measures encompassed proneness to anger and inability to delay, observed at 2 and 3 years in standard laboratory episodes. We observed parents' control at 4.5 and 5.5 years in lengthy naturalistic prohibition paradigms, and obtained parental ratings of children's disruptive behavior at 6.5 and 8 years. As expected, moderated mediation analyses, covarying stability of children's difficulty and parental control, revealed that the cascade from hard-to-manage temperament to child behavior problems, mediated by parental power-assertive control, was present in families with relatively more disadvantaged sociodemographic characteristics, or fewer resources, but absent in families with more advantageous sociodemographic features, or more resources. The findings were parallel for mother- and father-child dyads.

Longitudinal Pathways From Shyness in Early Childhood to Personality in Adolescence: Do Peers Matter?

Temperamental shyness in childhood is theorized to be an important contributor for adolescent personality. However, empirical evidence for such pathways is scarce. Using longitudinal data (N = 939 children, 51% boys) across 17 years, the aim of this study was to examine how shyness development throughout childhood predicted personality traits in adolescence, and the role of peers in these associations. Results from piecewise latent growth curve modeling showed early shyness levels to predict lower emotional stability and openness in adolescence, whereas early shyness levels and growth across childhood predicted lower extraversion. Peer problems in early adolescence accounted for these associations. This study is the first to demonstrate the role of childhood shyness and peer relations for adolescents' personality development.

Proactive Personality and Decent Work Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Working Adults

Building from the psychology of working framework, we examined the moderating role of proactive personality in the attainment of decent work among a sample of racially and ethnically diverse employed adults in the United States ( N = 238). We tested our hypotheses using structural equation modeling and found experiences of marginalization and economic constraints to have indirect associations with decent work via work volition. We also found marginalization, work volition, and career adaptability to have direct associations with decent work but found no support for proactive personality as a moderating mechanism. Our findings contribute to the growing literature examining how contextual variables are associated with securing decent work among diverse groups. We discuss practical implications along with future directions for research related to the psychology of working.

Family and neighborhood socioeconomic status and temperament development from childhood to adolescence

OBJECTIVE

Children differ in their temperament and these differences predict consequential outcomes, including mental health, peer relations, substance use, academic performance, and adult personality. Additionally, children's temperament develops over time in response to environmental factors, such as the socioeconomic status (SES) of their family and the neighborhood in which they are raised. However, there has been lack on research on the relation between neighborhood SES and the development of temperament or personality.

METHOD

Using data from two cohorts of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; N = 9,217) that followed children from 4 to 15 years old, the present analyses examined whether parent income, parent education, and neighborhood disadvantage were associated with three child temperament traits that are precursors to Five-Factor Model (FFM) adult personality traits.

RESULTS

Longitudinal hierarchical linear models (HLM) generally found that children with lower neighborhood SES or family SES tended to have lower sociability, higher reactivity, and lower persistence and these associations did not decrease over time.

CONCLUSIONS

This research demonstrates that both the neighborhood and the family SES in childhood are important for the development of temperament across childhood and adolescence.