title: Using Response Surface Analysis to Interpret the Impact of Parent-Offspring Personality Similarity on Adolescent Externalizing Problems.
abstract: Personality similarity between parent and offspring has been suggested to play an important role in offspring's development of externalizing problems. Nonetheless, much remains unknown regarding the nature of this association. This study aimed to investigate the effects of parent-offspring similarity at different levels of personality traits, comparing expectations based on evolutionary and goodness-of-fit perspectives. Two waves of data from the TRAILS study (N= 1587, 53% girls) were used to study parent-offspring similarity at different levels of personality traits at age 16 predicting externalizing problems at age 19. Polynomial regression analyses and Response Surface Analyses were used to disentangle effects of different levels and combinations of parents and offspring personality similarity. Although several facets of the offspring's personality had an impact on offspring's externalizing problems, few similarity effects were found. Therefore, there is little support for assumptions based on either an evolutionary or a goodness-of-fit perspective. Instead, our findings point in the direction that offspring personality, and at similar levels also parent personality might impact the development of externalizing problems during late adolescence. © 2017 The Authors.European Journal of Personalitypublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Aart
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franken
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology Tilburg University Tilburg The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Odillia M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Laceulle
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Psychology Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel A G
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Van Aken
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Groningen University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ormel
keywords: antisocial behavior; dyadic and group analysis; social and personal relationships; statistical methods