Abstract
Does childhood personality foreshadow later adaptation in the key developmental task domains of academic achievement, work, rule-abiding conduct, friendships, and romantic relationships? In this article we present a synopsis of recent findings from the Project Competence longitudinal study of 205 children who were assessed around ages 10, 20, and 30. Childhood personality differences predicted adaptation at all three time periods and also changes in adaptation over time. On the other hand, features of adult personality were presaged by childhood adaptation, and in some cases childhood adaptation predicted the course of personality development. To understand better the transactional processes that shape and link personality and adaptive success over the life course, longitudinal designs and more dynamic models of personality development will be needed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 580-588 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Research in Personality |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2002 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported in part by a grant from the Colgate Research Council. The results were based on data collected as part of the Project Competence longitudinal study, which has been supported through grants to Ann Masten, Auke Tellegen, and Norman Garmezy from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH33222), the William T. Grant Foundation, the National Science Foundation (SBR-9729111), and the University of Minnesota.
Keywords
- Competence
- Life outcomes
- Personality development
