Replicable personality types in childhood and adolescence: A Slovenian cross-sectional study

• Main Authors: Maja Zupančič, Alenka Gril
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Slovenian Psychologists' Association 2006-12-01
• Series: Psihološka Obzorja
• Subjects: childhood; adolescence; personality; five factor model of personality; age differences
• Online Access: http://psiholoska-obzorja.si/arhiv_clanki/2006_2/zupancic.pdf

The present study explored individual constellations of five personality dimensions (personality types) and their internal replicability with a sample of 4- to 14-year-olds (N = 1341). Employing an age- and culture-decentered assessment tool the target participants were rated by their mothers and the procedure by Asendorpf et al. (2001) was followed to derive personality types. Several cluster solutions were investigated with the one representing four personality types appearing the most interpretable. The average type included individuals (26%) expressing mean levels of conscientiousness, extraversion, openness/intellect, and neuroticism, and a relatively high level of agreeableness. The reserved children/adolescents (35 %) scored below-average in openess/intellect, relatively low in conscientiousness and extraversion, and they were rated relatively high for neuroticism. The wilful participants (30 %) were high in openness/intelect and within the average range they appeared relatively extraverted and disagreeable. The resilient type turned out to be the least capacious as it captured extremly conscientious, extraverted, open, emotionally stable and relatively high agreeable individuals. More girls than boys were classified as average and the boys were, in comparison to the girls, more often assigned to the wilful and to the reserved personality types. The wilful type was the most common in early childhood, the reserved type memberhip was the most frequent in middle and late childhood, and early adolesscents were the most frequently classified to the average type.