Personality Development Beyond the Mean: Do Life Events Shape Personality Variability, Structure, and Ipsative Continuity?

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-30
Author(s):  
Joshua J Jackson ◽  
Emorie D Beck
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Health Events ◽  
Level Change

Abstract Objectives Life experiences are thought to prompt changes in personality. However, existing studies find few replicable mean-level changes in personality following life events. The focus on mean-level change may obscure other types of personality change that are not routinely studied in the context of life events. These are variability in response, structural, and ipsative change. Methods The current proposal examines whether major life events (e.g., divorce and job loss) affect these 3 understudied types of personality trait change using 3 waves of Big Five trait data in a large-scale, representative longitudinal study (German Socioeconomic Panel Study, N = 16,368). Structural equation models compare those who had an event to their prior self and a control group who did not experience the event. Results Life events were found to have mostly null or small effects on variability in response, structural, and ipsative change. Across 2 types of tests for variability in response, few replications occurred. The only consistent effect across 3 types of change was for mental health events, which served to increase variance in all Big Five traits and increase consistency in ipsative profiles. Discussion Life events tend not to affect these novel metrics of personality trait change. The one exception of mental health events is consistent with previous literature on mean-level change. Overall, life events do not appear to by major catalysts of personality change, regardless of how change is defined.

scholarly journals Big Five Personality Stability, Change, and Codevelopment across Adolescence and Early Adulthood

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Borghuis ◽  
Jaap J. A. Denissen ◽  
Daniel Leonard Oberski ◽  
Klaas Sijtsma ◽  
Wim H. J. Meeus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Stability Change ◽  
Time Lagged

Using data from two large and overlapping cohorts of Dutch adolescents, containing up to seven waves of longitudinal data each (N = 2,230), the present study examined Big Five personality trait stability, change, and codevelopment in friendship and sibling dyads from age 12 to 22. Four findings stand out. First, the one-year rank-order stability of personality traits was already substantial at age 12, increased strongly from early through middle adolescence, and remained rather stable during late adolescence and early adulthood. Second, we found linear mean-level increases in girls’ conscientiousness, in both genders’ agreeableness, and in boys’ openness. We also found temporal dips (i.e., U-shaped mean-level change) in boys’ conscientiousness and in girls’ emotional stability and extraversion. We did not find a mean-level change in boys’ emotional stability and extraversion, and we found an increase followed by a decrease in girls’ openness. Third, adolescents showed substantial individual differences in the degree and direction of personality trait changes, especially with respect to conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability. Fourth, we found no evidence for personality trait convergence, for correlated change, or for time-lagged partner effects in dyadic friendship and sibling relationships. This lack of evidence for dyadic codevelopment suggests that adolescent friends and siblings tend to change independently from each other and that their shared experiences do not have uniform influences on their personality traits.

scholarly journals Cross-cultural examination of the Big Five Personality Trait Short Questionnaire: Measurement invariance testing and associations with mental health

PLoS ONE ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. e0226223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Mezquita ◽  
Adrian J. Bravo ◽  
Julien Morizot ◽  
Angelina Pilatti ◽  
Matthew R. Pearson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Invariance Testing ◽  
Short Questionnaire

Quality of Life and Mental Health in Brazilian Women Treated for Invasive Carcinoma of the Cervix

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 794-799
Author(s):  
Gabriela A. Caixeta ◽  
Emma E. C. Castro ◽  
Agnaldo L. Silva-Filho ◽  
Fernando M. Reis ◽  
José R. Cunha-Melo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Events ◽  
General Health ◽  
Invasive Carcinoma ◽  
Short Form ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
Control Group ◽  
History Of

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to compare the quality of life (QOL) and mental health (MH) of women surviving at least 2 years after treatment for invasive carcinoma of the cervix by radical hysterectomy (RH), chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, or by surgery followed by adjuvant therapy (RH + chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy). The QOL/MH of a control group of women with no history of malignancy was also assessed for comparison with the treated groups.MethodsThe levels of QOL and MH were assessed in 114 Brazilian women (57 patients with an average of 4 years since treatment completion and 57 control subjects). The 36-item Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, the Life Events Inventory, and a general survey for the assessment of sociodemographic data were applied to each participant of the study.ResultsNo differences were noted among the 3 treatment groups or between these and the control group concerning the levels of QOL (either physical or MH aspects), anxiety, general health, or life events. However, lower levels of anxiety were detected in cancer survivors when compared with the control group (P = 0.035).ConclusionsAfter at least 2 years, the QOL and the MH of Brazilian women treated for invasive carcinoma of the cervix were similar to those of women without malignancy and were not affected by the modality of treatment.

APPLICATION OF STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS TO ESTIMATE ONE PERSONALITY TRAIT FROM OTHERS WITH PARENTAL MENTAL HEALTH AS A LATENT VARIABLE

2021 ◽  
pp. 46-50
Author(s):  
Alka Sabharwal ◽  
Babita Goyal ◽  
Nidhi Arora Dhingra
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Case Group ◽  
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Layer Model ◽  
P Values

Introduction: Adolescence is a transformational but vulnerable age.Personality starts taking shape at this age and the traits developed during this phase are likely to remain with a person for the whole life. Afavourable atmosphere at home and surroundings play a pivotal role in development in different dimensions of personality. Lack of a support system may result in some psychiatric disorders among adolescents which might needs to be addressed. Eysenck personality questionnaire is a psychiatric tool to assess various dimensions of personality. Methods: Structural equation models with two and three layers were applied to estimate personality traits as identied by Eysenck personality questionnaire on two groups of adolescents: (i) The 'Control' group whose parents were not reported any psychiatric disorder; and (ii) the 'Case' group whose parent(s) were suffering from some psychiatric disorder as diagnosed by DSM-IV. Results: The conventional three-layer model for 'Control' group estimated 'Psychoticism' directly by 'Lie-scale' and indirectly by 'Extraversion' with p-values < 0.05. The two-layered model yielded no signicant difference between the base and the proposed model for 'Control' and 'Case' group as p-values were more than 0.05. The variability of Neuroticism was estimated up to 63.6% by a linear combination of Psychoticism, Lie-scale and Gender in Layer 1 of the model for the 'Control' group. Conclusion: In this study either through the conventional three-layer model or the proposed two-layer models, we concluded that some information about one dimension can be extracted from the other dimension with EPQ even if the correlation is not signicant. Also, the proposed two-layer model established the effect of gender at 10% level of signicance in case of 'Control' group. Psychoticism and Neuroticism mean scores were higher for the 'Case' groups than those for the 'Control' group thus establishing the effect of parental mental health on adolescents' personality

scholarly journals No personality change following unemployment: A registered replication of Boyce, Wood, Daly, and Sedikides (2015)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Gnambs ◽  
Barbara Stiglbauer
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Unemployment Duration ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
National Education ◽  
Adverse Life Event ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

The involuntary loss of paid employment represents an adverse life event that has been suggested to lead to personality change. However, previous research has reported highly contradictory findings. Therefore, a replication of Boyce, Wood, Daly, and Sedikides (2015) is presented. These authors originally identified nonlinear changes in openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Using data from the German National Education Panel Study (N = 5,005), we examined the impact of unemployment on personality change across three years. Latent change analyses indicated no effect of job loss on any Big Five trait. Moderating effects of unemployment duration or gender were not found. Even analyses accounting for potential selection effects led to comparable results. Thus, personality seemed invariant despite changes in employment status.

scholarly journals Personality Development in Emerging and Young Adulthood: A Study of Age Differences

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Pusch ◽  
Marcus Mund ◽  
Birk Hagemeyer ◽  
Christine Finn
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Rank Order ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Big Five Personality

Early adulthood is a time of substantial personality change characterized by large inter-individual diversity. To investigate the role of age in this diversity, the present study examined whether emerging adults differ from an older group of young adults in their Big Five personality development. By means of multi-group latent change modelling, two groups of 16- to 19-year-olds (n = 3,555) and 26- to 29-year-olds (n = 2,621) were tracked over the course of four years and compared regarding four aspects of personality change: Mean-level change, rank-order change, inter-individual differences in change, and profile change. In addition, age-differential socialization effects associated with six first-time life events were investigated. Analyses revealed substantial age differences in all four aspects of change. As expected, emerging adults showed greater change and diversity in change than young adults. However, the six life events had no age-differential impact on change in single traits and Big Five profiles. Overall, the results indicate that age differences should be considered even in specific life stages to advance the understanding of personality development.

scholarly journals Big Five personality development in adolescence and adulthood

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. T. Branje ◽  
Cornelis F. M. van Lieshout ◽  
Jan R. M. Gerris
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
The Life Course

The present article examines Big Five personality development across adolescence and middle adulthood. Two adolescents and their fathers and mothers from 285 Dutch families rated their own and their family members' personality. Using accelerated longitudinal growth curve analyses, mean level change in Big Five factors was estimated. For boys, Extraversion and Openness decreased and for girls, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness increased. Whereas mothers' Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness increased, fathers' Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability decreased. Differences in self‐ and other‐reported personality change were found, as well as interindividual differences in personality change. Results confirm that personality change is possible across the life course but these changes are not similar for all individuals and depend on the type of observer. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mental health treatment needs for medical students: a national longitudinal study

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirim Midtgaard ◽  
Øivind Ekeberg ◽  
Per Vaglum ◽  
Reidar Tyssen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Negative Life Events ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Treatment Needs

AbstractPurposeWe aimed to study the occurrence and predictors of medical students' mental health problems that required treatment.Subjects and methodsMedical students from all Norwegian universities (N = 421) were surveyed in their first term (T1), and 3 (T2) and 6 (T3) years later. The dependent variable was “Mental health problems in need of treatment”. Predictor variables included personality traits, medical school stress and negative life events.ResultsThe lifetime prevalence of mental health problems was 15% at T1. At T2, of the 31% who reported problems during the first 3 years, a majority had not sought help. At T3, 14% reported problems during the preceding year. Adjusted predictors of problems at T2 were previous mental health problems (p < .001), low level of intensity personality trait (extraversion) (p < .01), reality weakness personality trait (p < .01), perceived medical school stress (p < .05) and negative life events (p < .05).DiscussionMental health problems during the first 3 years were predicted by previous problems, personality, medical school stress and negative life events.ConclusionA third of the students reported mental health problems during the first 3 years. Intervention should focus on both individual problems and contextual stress.

Personality Traits and Perceptions of Major Life Events

2021 ◽  
pp. 089020702110458
Author(s):  
Andrew Rakhshani ◽  
Richard E. Lucas ◽  
M. Brent Donnellan ◽  
Ina Fassbender ◽  
Maike Luhmann
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Major Life Events ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Representative Samples ◽  
Related Personality

Research examining the associations between major life events and personality trait development is mixed. Work that evaluates perceptions of life events and how those perceptions are themselves associated with personality traits may help clarify the existing literature. We used a large student sample ( N = 1,509) and a demographically diverse sample from a Qualtrics panel ( N = 552) to conduct exploratory analyses examining the associations between the big five personality traits and perceptions of life events. Results suggested that (a) associations between personality and beliefs about event-related personality change differ between students and more representative samples, (b) associations between personality and event perceptions are often nuanced, and (c) event perceptions are not merely proxies for personality traits. These studies highlight the importance of subjective event perceptions in the study of major life events and personality.

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