Introduction. The study of personality is complex due to a multiplicity of factors (biological, psychological, social and cultural, among others). Traits indicate a personality that is functional (healthy) or dysfunctional (pathological). The most outstanding personality studies focus on personality disorders or abnormalities. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a higher prevalence of bipolar affective disorder (60 million patients), schizophrenia and other psychoses (21 million patients), and dementia (47.5 million patients). However, there are few studies of mental health in people with a functional personality, as considered in this research. The WHO assets that mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders and it is an integral part of health, since there is no health without mental health. The objective is to describe the personality traits of parents attending health checkups with their children at public and private healthcare entities (2013-2015). Methodology. Descriptive cross-sectional study that assesses 14 personality variables; convenience sample: 145 parents attending health check-ups with their children at local public hospitals in Girón and Bucaramanga, and private social company "The Rehabilitation Committee" (Medellín). Information was gathered using the sociodemographic questionnaire and the CUIDA Test (Questionnaire for the Assessment of Adoptive Parents, Caregivers, Guardians and Mediators). Results. 93.1% of the parents or caregivers are women and 6.9% are men; 84.8% aged between 30 and 59; their socioeconomic levels are 1, 2 and 3; 50% are single mothers. The parents or caregivers with a functional personality showed weaknesses on test scores, as they showed emotional dependency, low self-esteem, low frustration tolerance, limited flexibility, difficulty in establishing emotional ties and low grief resolution capacity, among others. Few parents had high scores on the factors that benefit the care of their children: between 0% and 22.9%. Conclusions. In the sample, mostly made up of single mothers, few achieved the high-test scores that were expected in people with a functional personality. On the contrary, low scores predominated, which are not very favorable for the care for children's health. Personality traits, whether they are functional or not, are transmitted more in the child rearing process by mothers than by fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]