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Author: Fegley, Suzanne
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Hart, Daniel
Atkins, Robert L.
Fegley, Suzanne
Personality and Development in Childhood: A Person-Centered Approach
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 68, 1 (2003)
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Head Start; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Resilience/Developmental Assets; Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC); Temperament

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

A person-centered approach to personality focusing on types of persons defined by profiles of traits is applied to childhood personality development. In 28 diverse samples of 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds, three personality types, labeled resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled, are identified. In two longitudinal samples, the undercontrolled type was related to intellectual decline over a period of six years. Both stability and change in childhood personality type were observed in longitudinal analyses. The number of risks characterizing a child's family predicted change in personality type over a two-year interval. Finally, personality type was found to be a moderator of the association of Head Start participation with cognitive development and behavior problems in childhood. The implications of personality type for understanding childhood development, particularly in children facing adversity, are considered.
Bibliography Citation
Hart, Daniel, Robert L. Atkins and Suzanne Fegley. "Personality and Development in Childhood: A Person-Centered Approach." Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 68, 1 (2003).