Children’s behavioral patterns, the Five-Factor model of personality, and risk behaviors

Although relations between children’s personality and health behaviors have been identified, previous research has relied primarily on survey assessments. The present study used behavioral observations to examine children’s (n = 94, mean age = 10.07 years) behavioral patterns in relation to their participation in risk behaviors 1 year later. Results contribute to previous reports linking specific personality traits to children’s likelihood of participation in risky behaviors. Specifically, girls’ participation in risky behavior was related to the expression of behavioral patterns associated with neuroticism, introversion, and disagreeableness, while boys participation in risk behaviors was related to behavioral patterns associated with extraversion and disagreeableness. Findings are discussed in terms of their potential for contributing to health promotion efforts aimed at identifying children most at risk for adopting unhealthy behaviors.     

On the temporal stability of personality: evidence for differential stability and the role of life experiences

The authors investigated the stability of personality and trait affect in young adults. In Studies 1 and 2, young adults were retested on a Big Five personality measure and a trait affect inventory over a 2.5-year and a 2-month period, respectively. Results from Study 1 point to positive mean-level changes; participants scored higher on Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness at Time 2. Affectively, participants experienced less negative affect and more positive affect at Time 2. Results from both retests provide clear evidence of differential stability. Affective traits were consistently less stable than the Big Five. Other analyses suggest that life events influence the stability of affective traits more than the Big Five.     

The interactive effect of personality, time of day, and caffeine: a test of the arousal model

The personality dimension of introversion/extraversion is one of the few personality dimensions that can be reliably identified from study to study and investigator to investigator. The importance of this demension within personality theory is due both to the stability of the trait and the influential theory of H. J. Eysenck. The basic assumption in Eysenck's theory of introversion/extraversion is that the personality differences between introverts and extraverts reflect some basic difference in the resting level of cortical arousal or activation. Assuming that there is a curvilinear relationship (an inverted U) between levels of stress and performance leads to a test of this arousal theory. That is, moderate increases in stress should hinder the performance of introverts who are presumably already highly aroused. However, the same moderate increase in stress might help the performance of the presumably underaroused extraverts. Revelle, Amaral, and Turriff reported that the administration of moderate doses of caffeine hindered the performance of introverts and helped the performance of extraverts on a cognitive task similar to the verbal test of the Graduate Record Examination. Assuming that caffeine increases arousal, this interaction between introversion/extraversion and drug condition supports Eysenck's theory. This interaction was explored in a series of experiments designed to replicate, extend, and test the generality of the original finding. The interaction between personality and drug condition was replicated and extended to additional cognitive performance tasks. However, these interactions were affected by time of day and stage of practice, and the subscales of introversion/extraversion, impulsivity, and sociability, were differentially affected. In the morning of the first day, low impulsives were hindered and high impulsives helped by caffeine. This pattern reversed in the evening of the first day, and it reversed again in the evening of Day 2. We concluded that the results from the first day of testing require a revision of Eysenck's theory. Instead of a stable difference in arousal between low and high impulsives, it appeared that these groups differed in the phase of their diurnal arousal rhythms. The result is that low impulsives are more aroused in the morning and less aroused in the evening than are the high impulsives. A variety of peripheral or strategic explanations (differences in caffeine consumption, guessing strategies, distraction, etc.) for the observed performance increments and decrements were proposed and tentatively rejected. It seems probable that some fundamental change in the efficiency with which information is processes is responsible for these performance changes.     

Child Maltreatment,Problem Behaviors,and Neighborhood Attainment

Using data from a prospective cohort design study of a group of children with documented histories of abuse and neglect (n = 908) and matched controls (n = 667), this paper examines whether problem behaviors (e.g., prostitution, crime, school problems, and homelessness) in young adulthood explain the link between maltreatment in childhood and living in high‐risk neighborhoods in middle adulthood. Problem behaviors were assessed at mean age of 29 and neighborhood characteristics were assessed at mean age of 40. Child maltreatment predicted living in less desirable neighborhoods in middle adulthood. Problem behaviors in young adulthood partially mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and residence in less desirable neighborhoods in middle adulthood. The direct paths from child maltreatment to neighborhoods were not significant for Black children. For White children, there was a direct relationship between child maltreatment and living in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood. Problem behaviors were a stronger mediator between child maltreatment and living in more disordered and less socially cohesive neighborhoods for Black children, while the problem behaviors were a stronger mediator for living in more economically disadvantaged and less socially cohesive neighborhoods for White children. Further research is needed to understand these racial differences. Interventions should focus on preventing problem behaviors to minimize the risk of residency in high‐risk neighborhoods.     

Personality in the age of industry: Structure,heritability, and correlates of personality in middle childhood from the perspective of parents,teachers, and children

Middle childhood is a crucial juncture in the lifespan where children work toward achieving a sense of competence foundational for future development. However, middle childhood has historically been underrepresented in the personality literature. The current study provides a comprehensive examination of personality in middle childhood using a large (N = 2510), longitudinal sample of 10- to 12-year-old twins. The structure, heritability, and correlates of personality in this period were investigated using personality ratings of parents, teachers, and children. Results showed that personality in middle childhood has a coherent structure, is heritable, and is relevant for developmentally salient outcomes such as externalizing behavior, substance use, and academic engagement. Results emphasize the importance of investigating personality in middle childhood across multiple informants.     

Risk-taking and impulsive personality traits in proficient downhill sports enthusiasts

Although past studies have examined how personality traits may motivate participation in high-risk sports, few previous studies have examined impulsive personality correlates with risk-taking within a group of sports enthusiasts. We examined relationships between measures of personality and risk-taking on the slopes as measured by a sport-specific Sensation Seeking Scale in a sample of proficient-level skiers and snowboarders (N = 123, 61% male). Significant correlations were found between risk-taking and multiple traits including Reward Sensitivity, Punishment Sensitivity, and Sensation Seeking, implying that some traits that motivate participation in high-risk sports also lead to more risky behavior while participating in said sports. Rash Impulsivity, though not found to distinguish participants from non-participants in previous studies, did correlate with risk-taking behavior on the slopes. The results of this study show that while some aspects of impulsive personality may motivate risky sport participation, other traits may be related to risky behavior once engaged in the sport.     

Youth sport participation and parental mental health

ObjectivesThe purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the relations of having a child involved in youth sport and primary (i.e., parent that knows the child best) and secondary parents' mental health.DesignParents from Wave 7 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children reported their child's involvement in organised youth sport and self-reported measures of mental health. A total of 3192 primary (M = 43.04 years, SD = 8.75), and 2794 secondary (M = 46.13 years, SD = 6.16) parents of adolescent children were enrolled in the study. To investigate differences by type of sport participation, sport participation was grouped into one of four categories: non-participation; individual sport only; team sport only; both team and individual sport. Measures of days per week and hours per day of participation were also used to examine the relationship between sport participation and parental mental health.ResultsParents with adolescents involved in organised sport reported more life stress, more time pressure, and less psychological distress than parents of non-athletes. Stronger effects appeared in primary parents in comparison to secondary parents.ConclusionThe findings suggest an important relationship with respect to having a child involved in organised sport and parents' mental health. We encourage future scholars to explore potential protective mechanisms' (e.g., opportunities to socialise) of having a child in youth sport for the benefit of parents' mental health.     

Effects of television exposure on developmental skills among young children

BackgroundLiterature addressing the effects of television exposure on developmental skills of young children less than 36 months of age is scarce. This study explored how much time young children spend viewing television and investigated its effects on cognitive, language, and motor developmental skills.MethodsData were collected from the Pediatric Clinics at University Medical Center in Southern Taiwan. The participants comprised 75 children who were frequently exposed to television and 75 children who were not or infrequently exposed to television between 15 and 35 months old. The age and sex were matched in the two groups. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development-second edition and Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-second edition were used to identify developmental skills. Independent t-tests, χ² tests, and logistic regression models were conducted.ResultsAmong 75 children who were frequently exposed to television, young children watched a daily average of 67.4 min of television before age 2, which was excessive according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Viewing television increased the risk of delayed cognitive, language, and motor development in children who were frequently exposed to television. Cognitive, language, and motor delays in young children were significantly associated with how much time they spent viewing television. The type of care providers was critical in determining the television-viewing time of children.ConclusionWe recommend that pediatric practitioners explain the impacts of television exposure to parents and caregivers to ensure cognitive, language, and motor development in young children. Advocacy efforts must address the fact that allowing young children to spend excessive time viewing television can be developmentally detrimental.     

“Avoiding or approaching eyes”? Introversion/extraversion affects the gaze-cueing effect

We investigated whether the extra-/introversion personality dimension can influence processing of others’ eye gaze direction and emotional facial expression during a target detection task. On the basis of previous evidence showing that self-reported trait anxiety can affect gaze-cueing with emotional faces, we also verified whether trait anxiety can modulate the influence of intro-/extraversion on behavioral performance. Fearful, happy, angry or neutral faces, with either direct or averted gaze, were presented before the target appeared in spatial locations congruent or incongruent with stimuli’s eye gaze direction. Results showed a significant influence of intra-/extraversion dimension on gaze-cueing effect for angry, happy, and neutral faces with averted gaze. Introverts did not show the gaze congruency effect when viewing angry expressions, but did so with happy and neutral faces; extraverts showed the opposite pattern. Importantly, the influence of intro-/extraversion on gaze-cueing was not mediated by trait anxiety. These findings demonstrated that personality differences can shape processing of interactions between relevant social signals.     

Individual differences in preschool children: temperament or personality?

Individual differences among adults have generally been conceptualized in terms of personality theory and traits. In contrast, individual differences among very young children (birth to kindergarten) have generally been conceptualized in terms of temperament theory and traits. The present study compares and contrasts measures of temperament and personality in a sample of preschool children. Temperament traits were assessed with a well‐established measure (the Rothbart CBQ), and a new preschool rating instrument was used to assess personality traits from the five‐factor framework (M5‐PS). Indeed, a key purpose of this study was to further the development of the M5‐PS. Data were gathered on 122 preschool children who were rated by their teachers. Significant correlations were found between the temperament trait Surgency and the personality trait Extraversion, between the temperament trait Negative Affect and the personality trait Neuroticism, and between the temperament trait Effortful Control and the personality trait Conscientiousness. The overall pattern of correlational data suggests that individual differences in preschool children can be adequately described using the five‐factor theory, and that this framework may effectively subsume traditional theories of temperament. Preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the M5‐PS is offered. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Achievement and social goals, persistence-effort, and intentions of sport practice in physical education students

The present study examined the relationship between achievement and social goals, and explored how both types of goals can affect secondary school students' persistence/effort in Physical Education classes, as well as their intention to participate in sport activities after finishing secondary school. A sample of 350 students (aged 15-17) from two high schools in Asturias participated in the study. Multiple regression analysis showed: a) persistence/effort in physical education classes was better explained by social responsibility goals, followed by mastery-approach goals and mastery-avoidance goals; b) achievement goals are the only predictors of young people's intention of practicing sport in the future. Differences were found in these results according to gender and course. These findings help us better understand the processes involved in Physical Education. Finally, implications to improve classes and to achieve young people's more active and higher level of implication in sports are discussed.     

Health-related behaviour and personality trait development in adulthood

This investigation explored the contribution of a healthy lifestyle to personality trait stability and change during adulthood. A nationally representative sample of 11,133 Australian adults completed self-report measures of health-related behaviour and personality traits at baseline (2010) and again four years later (2014). Results showed that physical activity and alcohol intake, and to a lesser extent diet and cigarette smoking, were important for mean-level change and intra-individual stability of personality for all trait dimensions. Moreover, positive health behaviours were associated with less of a decrease in extraversion and more of an increase in openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness over four years.These findings suggest that healthy living might help to facilitate desirable personality trait stability and change during adulthood.     

3~4岁幼儿创造性人格与气质的交叉滞后分析

以幼儿创造性人格倾向教师评定问卷、儿童气质教师评定问卷作为研究工具,对287名3岁和4岁组幼儿进行为期一年的追踪研究,考察幼儿气质与创造性人格的发展变化情况,以及幼儿气质与其创造性人格之间的关系。结果发现：随着时间的发展,幼儿气质对其创造性人格有显著影响。幼儿的情绪性、活动性、反应性及专注性均能够显著正向预测其创造性人格,而幼儿的社会抑制性则能够显著负向预测其创造性人格。     

Associations Between Sport Participation,Goal and Sportspersonship Orientations,and Moral Reasoning

This study examined associations between level of sport participation, goal and sportspersonship orientations, and moral reasoning in sport and nonsport situations and orientation by sport participation interactions. Participants were individuals with elite (n = 176), high school (n = 183), and youth sport (n = 78) participation. When judging sport situations, individuals who participated in elite sports demonstrated poorer moral reasoning than those who participated in high school and youth sports. At low levels of sportspersonship, individuals who participated in youth sports demonstrated higher moral reasoning than those who participated in high school and elite sports. When judging nonsport situations, moral reasoning was positively related to positive sportspersonship and negatively related to ego orientation but did not differ by sport participation. Within sport, sport participation and goal and sportspersonship orientations play a critical role in moral reasoning. However, these orientations may be more important than sport participation in moral reasoning beyond the sport context.     

Clinical,Sociobiological, and Cognitive Predictors of ADHD Persistence in Children Followed Prospectively Over Time

With increasing awareness that ADHD is chronically disabling, a burgeoning literature has examined childhood clinical indicators of ADHD persistence. This study investigates whether childhood factors reflecting biological risk and cognitive reserve have additive predictive value for the persistence of ADHD that is unique beyond childhood indicators of disorder severity. One-hundred thirty children with ADHD (mean age = 8.9 years, 75 % male) were followed into adolescence (mean age = 14.0 years). Childhood ADHD and co-morbidities were assessed via interviews with parents and teachers; parental psychopathology was assessed via parent interview; exposure to neurobiological and psychosocial adversity were indexed by parent questionnaire; and cognitive reserve was evaluated through children’s performance on measures of IQ and executive functioning. Univariate analyses identified childhood inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, co-morbid oppositional defiant disorder, overall impairment, and paternal anxiety and depression as more prevalent amongst adolescents with persistent compared with remitted ADHD. Only child-level predictors remained significant in a final multivariate model. These results suggest that children who are most likely to experience persistent ADHD have a more severe clinical presentation in childhood, reflected by increased levels of inattention, oppositional behavior, and impairment. They also are more likely to have fathers with internalizing concerns, but these concerns do not uniquely predict ADHD persistence beyond child-level factors. Contrary to expectations, childhood adversity and cognitive functioning did not predict the course of ADHD.     

Assessing the Relationship Between Youth Sport Participation Settings and Creativity in Adulthood

This article presents an assessment of the relative influences of time spent participating in organized sports and informal sports during childhood with respect to the development of general creativity. In this study, 99 upper-division undergraduate and graduate students completed a comprehensive childhood leisure activities questionnaire and the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults. According to the results of the joint generalized least-squares regression analysis, hours spent in organized sport settings was negatively related to creativity as an adult; time spent in unstructured sport settings was found to be positively related to adult creativity. The findings also point to the importance of balancing participation across organized and unstructured settings. The most creative individuals in the sample were those who spent roughly half of their sport participation time in each setting, as opposed to individuals with below-average creativity, who spent upwards of 3/4 of their sport participation time in organized settings. Therefore, fostering creative development through sport may not require a dramatic reorientation from current youth sport development models, but only a shift toward a more balanced distribution of time spent playing in both organized and unstructured settings. Future experiments are needed to test this relationship.     

中学生特质焦虑与其影响因素的模型建构

该研究旨在建构特质焦虑与其影响因素的关系模型。文中提出了影响特质焦虑的三个潜变量 ,分别是人格、学业压力、环境。其中人格包括自卑倾向和内向性格两个指示变量 ,学校压力包括学业压力和人际困扰两个指示变量 ,环境包括不良社会影响、学校适应不良、身体虚弱和父母不良教养方式等指示变量。研究结果发现 ,人格和学校压力直接导致特质焦虑 ,环境通过对人格和学校压力产生影响而间接影响特质焦虑 ,同时 ,人格对学校压力产生影响     

Distinct patterns of organized activity participation and their associations with school readiness among Chinese preschoolers

Organized extracurricular activities (EAs) constitute an important part of many young children's lives. However, the role of EAs in children's development during early childhood is poorly understood. The current study examined the associations between EA participation and a range of school readiness outcomes in a sample of 345 urban Chinese preschoolers. Using three waves of data collected on EA participation and applying growth mixture modeling, we discovered two distinct trajectory classes with respect to the breadth of EA participation as well as two classes for EA attendance intensity. With a series of covariates controlled for, children's greater initial levels of or rates of increase in EA breadth were related to better early math skills. Greater probabilities of belonging to the higher-intensity class were also associated with better early math skills in children. However, EA participation did not predict other aspects of children's school readiness, including Chinese reading, receptive vocabulary, expressive language, social skills, and problem behaviors. This study extends existing EA literature, which has primarily focused on school-aged populations in Western contexts, by demonstrating substantial individual variations in Chinese preschoolers' trajectories of EA participation. Our findings suggest that EAs seem to have little unique contribution to children's school readiness except for early math skills.     

6～9岁儿童特质观与其人格特质的关系

为考察特质观与稳定的行为方式之间的关系,采用情境故事法和问卷法分别对180名6～9岁儿童进行了特质稳定性理解的个别测查和人格特质的教师评定。结果发现,持三种不同特质观（实体论、中间论、渐变论）的6～9岁儿童开始在认真有恒、自制稳重、聪慧性、开朗活泼和同情利他五种人格特质行为上表现出显著差异;6～9岁儿童的特质观能够预测以上五种人格特质,丽儿童“开朗插泼”和“聪慧性”特质行为的线性组合是预测儿童特质观的最佳指标。这些研究结论有助于说明关于特质的认知在调解和制约个体稳定的行为理解和反应中的重要作用,验证了人格认知流派的观点;支持了认知与人格之间交互作用的理论假设;对于解释年幼儿童发展中的不适应问题具有一定的意义。