Childhood personality types: vulnerability and adaptation over time.
BACKGROUND
Substantial evidence suggests that a Five-Factor Model personality assessment generates a valid description of childhood individual differences and relates to a range of psychological outcomes. Less is known, however, about naturally occurring profiles of personality and their links to psychopathology. The current study explores whether childhood personality characteristics tend to cluster in particular personality profiles that show unique associations with psychopathology and quality of life across time.


METHODS
Latent class analysis was conducted on maternal rated general personality of a Flemish childhood community sample (N = 477; mean age 10.6 years). The associations of latent class membership probability with psychopathology and quality of life 2 years later were examined, using a multi-informant perspective.


RESULTS
Four distinguishable latent classes were found, representing a Moderate, a Protected, an Undercontrolled and a Vulnerable childhood personality type. Each of these types showed unique associations with childhood outcomes across raters.


CONCLUSIONS
Four different personality types can be delineated at young age and have a significant value in understanding vulnerability and adaptation over time.
Department of Psychology, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, Ghent, Belgium. barbaraj.declercq@ugent.be
Barbara
B
De Clercq
David
D
Rettew
Robert R
RR
Althoff
Marleen
M
De Bolle
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk