| Title |
Personality types in adolescence: change and stability and links with adjustment and relationships: a five-wave longitudinal study |
| Published in |
Developmental Psychology, Vol. 47, p.1181-1195. ISSN 0012-1649. |
| Author |
Meeus, Wim; Van de Schoot, A.G.J.; Klimstra, T.; Branje, S. |
| Date |
2011 |
| Language |
English |
| Type |
article |
| Publisher |
American Psychological Association |
| Abstract |
We examined change and stability of the 3 personality types identified by Block and Block (1980) and
studied their links with adjustment and relationships. We used data from a 5-wave study of 923
early-to-middle and 390 middle-to-late adolescents, thereby covering the ages of 12–20 years. In Study
1, systematic evidence for personality change was found, in that the number of overcontrollers and
undercontrollers decreased, whereas the number of resilients increased. Undercontrol, in particular, was
found to peak in early-to-middle adolescence. We also found substantial stability of personality types,
because 73.5% of the adolescents had the same personality type across the 5 waves. Personality change
was mainly characterized by 2 transitions: overcontrol 3 resiliency and undercontrol 3 resiliency. The
transitional analyses implied that the resilient type serves more often as the end point of personality
development in adolescence than do overcontrol and undercontrol. Analyses of the personality type
trajectories also revealed that the majority of adolescents who change personality type across 5 years
made only 1 transition. Study 2 revealed systematic differences between resilients and overcontrollers in
anxiety. Stable resilients were less anxious over time than were stable overcontrollers. Further, change
from overcontrol to the resilient type was accompanied by decreases in anxiety, whereas change from the
resilient type to overcontrol was accompanied by an increase in anxiety. Similarly, systematic differences
between personality types were found in the formation of intimate relationships. |
| Publication |
http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/fss/2012-0118-200301/UUi... |
| OpenURL |
Search this publication in (your) library |
| Persistent Identifier |
URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1874-220515 |
| Metadata |
XML |
| Repository |
Utrecht University |