Personality and development in childhood: a person-centered approach

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.