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The present study investigated direct as well as indirect relations between children's emotion regulation (anger- and avoidant-oriented strategies), behavior regulation, and mathematics achievement in a longitudinal study during the transition from primary to secondary school in Germany. Participants were 76 primary school students attending grade four at Time 1, of whom 51 participated again as secondary school students attending grade five at Time 2, as well as children's mothers and teachers. Anger- and avoidant-oriented emotion regulation strategies at Time 1 were negatively associated to behavior regulation at Time 2. Behavior regulation at Time 2 was positively related to mathematics achievement at Time 2. There were no direct relations between emotion regulation (anger- and avoidant-oriented strategies) at Time 1 and mathematics achievement at Time 2. However, we found significant indirect negative effects between emotion regulation (anger- and avoidant-oriented strategies) at Time 1 and mathematics achievement at Time 2 via behavior regulation at Time 1. Thus, anger- and avoidant-oriented emotion regulation at Time 1 indirectly affected mathematics achievement negatively at Time 2 via behavior regulation at Time 2. This study confirms the complex structure of self-regulatory processes and underlines the importance of specific emotion regulation strategies for mathematics achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses two questions: Do Big Five traits change from early to middle adolescence? How do developmental trajectories differ between educational environments (i.e., secondary school tracks)? We used a representative random sample from Germany, following 6th graders (T1, N = 1662; age: M = 11.68; SD = 0.63; female = 47.4%; from N = 87 primary schools) to the end of compulsory secondary education over three measurement points (i.e., assessing students in 6th, 7th, and 9th grade). Results of latent change modeling indicated overall increases in mean levels for all personality traits from early to middle adolescence. Regarding selection effects, the results indicated that more conscientious, agreeable, extraverted, open, and emotionally stable sixth graders were more likely to transit into an academic rather than a non-academic secondary school track. Moreover, the results showed that these initial differences in personality traits seemed to diminish between 6th and 9th grade for all personality traits. Additionally, controlling for selection effects, a contextual effect was discernible for conscientiousness. This study highlighted the potential role of differential learning environments for modifying changes in personality traits during adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personality development in emerging adults who do not attend college after high school has been largely overlooked so far. In this study, we investigated personality development in emerging German adults (NT1 = 1,886, MageT1 = 18.01 years, 29% female) undergoing vocational education and training (VET). The trainees were assessed at the start of VET, 1.5 years later, and another 1.5 years after that, just before graduation. Longitudinal latent change score analyses were applied. Bivariate analyses investigated life satisfaction and job strain as social and work‐related aspects that are potentially reciprocally related to personality development. Mean‐level personality changes included increases in neuroticism and decreases in agreeableness and conscientiousness in the first interval. In the second interval, neuroticism decreased and conscientiousness increased. Simultaneously, trainees reported a gradual decrease in extraversion and openness across the 3‐year time span. Personality, especially agreeableness and conscientiousness, emerged as a stronger predictor of changes in job strain and life satisfaction than vice versa. For example, more agreeable and more conscientious trainees subsequently showed increases in life satisfaction. Trainees reporting higher job strain subsequently showed decreases in agreeableness. Trajectories of personality development partly support the maturity principle that has been established in many college student samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]