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Despite growing research results indicating that shyness is a risk factor for psychosocial maladjustment in childhood, less is known about the conceptual mechanisms that may underlie these associations. The purpose of the current study was to explore links between self-reported shyness, coping strategies and social functioning in middle childhood. As well, we sought to examine the reliance on internalizing coping strategies as a potential mediator of the link between shyness and social functioning. Participants were 355 children aged 9 to 11 years who completed measures of shyness, loneliness, positive and negative affect, social anxiety, self-concept, well-being, and coping strategies. Results indicated that shyness was associated with greater internalizing difficulties and lower wellbeing. Moreover, internalizing coping was found to partially mediate the relation between shyness and certain indices of internalizing problems. These results suggest a conceptual pathway, where an over-reliance on internalizing coping may partially explain why shy children experience internalizing difficulties in middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a validation of a scale that assesses parents' childrearing behavior toward young children. The scale was validated on 565 parents of 2- to 7-year-old children. The current results replicated the factor solution of the original scale designed for parents of school-aged children. The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties: moderate to high internal consistency, the expected relations with criterion variables (parental self-efficacy beliefs, child's behavior and personality), and discriminative properties according to the parents' gender and educational level, the child's age and gender, and the difference between referred and nonreferred children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Research on the structure of personality in middle childhood, while advancing, is still in the early stages of development. In this study, we employed a group of 1563 twins to elucidate the hierarchical structure of personality in middle childhood and provide connections to established personality traits in adult populations. Our results provide evidence for a higher-order structure of personality in middle childhood that maps on to recent findings in adult populations supporting hierarchical relationships among 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-factor models of personality. In addition, primary higher-order personality traits rated by parents at age 11 showed substantial predictive validity for analogous traits rated by self at age 17. We discuss our results within the context of developing a convergent hierarchical taxonomy of personality in middle childhood and the importance of multi-informant investigations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate personality in children aged 8–12 years. Children's self-perceptions were compared to parent's ratings. Parents of 506 children completed the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC) and children completed a selection of 38 questions from the HiPIC. Results showed that children aged 11–12 years present higher structural congruence, higher reliabilities and higher mean correlation with parents' description than children aged 8–9 years. Interestingly reliabilities of parents' ratings were also higher for older children. Mean levels were higher in younger children for Imagination in parents' ratings and for Benevolence, Conscientiousness and Imagination, in children's ratings. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recalled childhood gender nonconformity (CGN) and adult traits—e.g., masculinity–femininity of occupational preferences (MF-Occ), self-ascribed masculinity–femininity (Self-MF), self-reported anxiety—were assessed in an ethnically diverse US convenience sample of California college students and gay pride attendees, including 238 heterosexual men, 127 gay men, 343 heterosexual women, and 197 lesbian women. CGN showed large heterosexual–homosexual and gender differences, with homosexual individuals higher than heterosexual individuals and women higher than men. CGN was significantly associated with both men’s and women’s MF-Occ and Self-MF, both within and across sexual orientations. CGN was associated with self-reported anxiety for men but not for women, a finding true for both heterosexual and gay men, suggesting that CGN had a more negative impact on men than women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly 25 years ago, Allen-Meares and Lane appraised the status of adaptive behavior assessments in use at the time, citing their usefulness and relevance to the overall assessment of school children. This article revisits those instruments and examines select current instruments to gauge whether they include the multicultural sensitivity required to fairly assess the growing diverse populations of school children. Many of the popular adaptive behavior assessment instruments have not been normed with a wide array of racial groups or with cultural considerations in mind. This leads to suggestions of how social workers in particular may ensure that referred students are assessed fairly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests to teachers some instructional practices which may motivate students to engage in writing. These suggestions are based on the assumption that motivation to write is basically an attitude toward writing, which includes two main components: the student's sense of competence in writing, and his or her view of the role and relevance of writing as a subject. Suggestions to teachers regard three main and closely connected aspects. First, the writing tasks: examples of meaningful writing activities are presented. Second, the writer: the importance of fostering the student's sense of competence in writing is underlined. Last, an unstrained writing environment as the condition for fruitful individual and collaborative writing is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few self-reports of impulsivity dealing with children, although this personality trait has been related to many behaviour problems in both children and adolescents. The appropriateness of the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory for Children (DII-c) and the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory (DII) to measure impulsivity in children and adolescents was assessed. The factorial Structure of the DII-c and the internal consistencies for both inventories suggest the measured dimensions are not consistent until adulthood. These self-report measures are not appropriate for children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's personality traits have enduring effects that shape adult well-being. In particular, childhood conscientiousness influences core aspects of adult well-being: health, friendships, and mastery. Research is now examining the mechanisms by which early personality traits initiate and sustain particular life paths. These include mediating and moderating mechanisms that may operate during critical developmental periods or may build cumulatively over time. Future research would benefit from testing theoretically derived mechanisms for different traits and examining variables as they change over time, using both short- and long-term longitudinal designs over different life stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This 3-year longitudinal study provides a comprehensive analysis of continuity and change in teacher ratings of personality characteristics of 475 children (6–9 years old). Personality was measured with the 144-item Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children. Data were analyzed using four different methods: differential continuity, mean-level continuity, individual differences in continuity, and ipsative continuity. Convergent evidence pointing toward personality continuity, as opposed to change, was found. Analyses indicated small normative (i.e. mean-level) changes, moderate rank-order stability correlations, high individual-level continuity and moderate levels of ipsative (i.e. profile) stability. The only gender difference that was found is that more girls than expected decreased on self-confidence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a 19-year longitudinal study, the 15% most inhibited and the 15% most aggressive children at ages 4-6 years were followed up until age 23 years and were compared with controls who were below average in preschool inhibition or aggressiveness. As adults, inhibited boys and girls were judged as inhibited by their parents and showed a delay in establishing a first stable partnership and finding a first full-time job. However, only the upper 8% in terms of inhibition tended to show internalizing problems, including self-rated inhibition. Aggressive boys showed an externalizing personality profile in the parental and self-judgments, were educational and occupational underachievers, and showed a higher adult delinquency rate than the controls, even after sex and socioeconomic status were controlled. The results suggest delayed social transitions without internalizing problems for most male and female inhibited children and a significant long-term risk of an externalizing profile for aggressive children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of the Enneagram system and object relations theory to understand the development of personality type. The Enneagram system has nine personality patterns that are essential in the expression of self, while the object relations theory describes the way individuals experience social relationships. The integration of the two can help in understanding the psychological experiences of children and fosters growth. The benefits of such integration are also included.

Shy children are wary in the face of new social situations and perceived social evaluation. In this regard, the transition to kindergarten may represent a particularly challenging task for shy children. In this review, we explore the kindergarten classroom as a particularly stressful context for shy children. We examine the adjustment difficulties that shy children may face when starting school, including problems with peers, teachers, and academics. We also consider what teachers can do to help ease the school adjustment problems of shy children. It is our hope to continue to raise awareness in parents, educators, and mental health care professionals with regards to the challenges that shy children face at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the use of consensus information in early childhood. Ninety-six three- to six-year-olds watched a demonstration that depicted the positive or negative behavior of one or several actors toward a recipient (low vs. high consensus, respectively). Subsequently, participants made behavioral predictions and personality judgments about the actors and recipients. Participants viewed all story characters favorably and were reluctant to assign blame for negative outcomes, although the appropriate use of consensus information increased with age for behavioral predictions. These findings suggest that there is a positivity bias in young children's personality judgments even in the face of explicit contradictory behavioral evidence. Children's early ‘theory of personality’ is apparently driven by a baseline assumption that people are nice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast with early theories of socialization that emphasized the role of parents in shaping their children's personalities, recent empirical evidence suggests an evocative relationship between adolescent personality traits and the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship. Research using behavior genetic methods suggests that the association between personality and parenting is genetically mediated, such that the genetic effects on adolescent personality traits overlap with the genetic effects on parenting behavior. In the current study, the authors examined whether the etiology of this relationship might change depending on the adolescent's personality. Biometrical moderation models were used to test for gene-environment interaction and correlation between personality traits and measures of conflict, regard, and involvement with parents in a sample of 2,452 adolescents (M age = 17.79 years). They found significant moderation of both positive and negative qualities of the parent --adolescent relationship, such that the genetic and environmental variance in relationship quality varied as functions of the adolescent's levels of personality. These findings support the importance of adolescent personality in the development of the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To examine behaviour problems, personality, self-perceived competence and academic deficits in children who had recovered from non- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) bacterial meningitis (BM) without obvious medical sequelae. Methods: Assessments in 182 children, mean age 10 (range 5–14) years, 4–10 years after surviving meningitis, were compared to scores of norm reference groups. Results: More children were estimated to have academic deficits (27%) than behaviour problems as perceived by the parents (9%). The mean deviation from normal was absent to moderate on behaviour problems, personality variables and self-perceived competence. Conclusion: Children who survived non-Hib BM without severe medical sequelae hardly differ from normal children with respect to personality and self-perceived competence. A small proportion deviates from normal in behaviour problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors aim to make accessible the careful application of a method called instrumental variables (IV). Under the right analytic conditions, IV is one promising strategy for answering questions about the causal nature of associations and, in so doing, can advance developmental theory. The authors build on prior work combining the analytic approach of IV with the strengths of random assignment design, whether the experiment is conducted in the lab setting or in the "real world." The approach is detailed through an empirical example about the effects of maternal education on children's cognitive and school outcomes. With IV techniques, the authors address whether maternal education is causally related to children's cognitive development or whether the observed associations reflect some other characteristic related to parenting, income, or personality. The IV estimates show that maternal education has a positive effect on the cognitive test scores of children entering school. The authors conclude by discussing opportunities for applying these same techniques to address other questions of critical relevance to developmental science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study administered the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3), a more readable version of an adult measure of the Five-Factor Model, to 449 boys and girls aged 12 and 13, who described themselves or a peer. Analyses of readability, reliability, factor structure, and convergent and discriminant validity suggested that the NEO-PI-3 can be appropriately used in this age group. Personality traits in children of this age closely resemble in structure and functioning the traits of older adolescents and adults. Most gender differences known from studies of adults are found in this age group, and mean levels show continuity with older groups. The NEO-PI-3 appears to be a useful instrument for research, and potentially for clinical applications, in middle-school-aged children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research examined five-year-old children's psychological self-concepts. Non-linear factor analysis was used to model the latent structure of the children's self-view questionnaire (CSVQ; Eder, 1990 ), a measure of children's self-concepts. The coherence and reliability of the emerging factor structure indicated that young children are capable of meaningfully reporting about their own emotions and personalities. Moreover, these self-reports from five-year-olds converged with maternal perceptions of child personality. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the study of emergent personality, continuity/discontinuity in personality assessment across the lifespan, and self-concept formation in early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separate studies of rural and urban Head Start systems tested the hypothesis that an emotion-based prevention program (EBP) would accelerate the development of emotion and social competence and decrease agonistic behavior and potential precursors of psychopathology. In both studies, Head Start centers were randomly assigned to treatment and control/comparison group conditions. In Study 1 (rural community), results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that compared to the control condition (Head Start as usual), EBP produced greater increases in emotion knowledge and emotion regulation and greater decreases in children's negative emotion expressions, aggression, anxious/depressed behavior, and negative peer and adult interactions. In Study 2 (inner city), compared to the established prevention program I Can Problem Solve, EBP led to greater increases in emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, positive emotion expression, and social competence. In Study 2, emotion knowledge mediated the effects of EBP on emotion regulation, and emotion competence (an aggregate of emotion knowledge and emotion regulation) mediated the effects of EBP on social competence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Low capacity of the central serotonergic system has been associated with impulsive behaviour. Both low platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity and the short (S) allele of the serotonin transporter gene promoter region polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) are proposed to be markers of less efficient serotonergic functioning. The effect of the two markers for serotonin system efficiency on performance in a visual comparison task (VCT) and self-reported impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS-11) were investigated in healthy adolescents participating in the Estonian Children Personality Behaviour and Health Study. Possible confounding effect of general cognitive abilities on the performance in VCT was controlled for. Low platelet MAO activity and carrying of the S allele of 5-HTTLPR were both associated with higher error-rate and more impulsive performance in VCT. Platelet MAO activity and 5-HTTLPR S allele had a significant interactive effect on self-reported impulsivity (BIS-11). The effect of platelet MAO activity on both self-reported and performance impulsivity was significant only in the S allele carriers. The effect of 5-HTTLPR S allele on impulsive performance remained significant after controlling for general cognitive abilities. The two markers of lower serotonergic capacity, 5-HTTLPR S allele and low platelet MAO activity, have a similar and partly synergistic influence on self-reported as well as performance measures of impulsivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the effects of state and trait anxiety on 8–11 years old children's susceptibility to misleading post-event information. Participants' state and trait anxiety were measured, after which they watched an extract from a children's movie. They were then individually interviewed using either a supportive or a non-supportive style. During the interviews, the children were asked 14 questions about the movie, seven of which were control and seven contained misleading information. After the interview, their state anxiety was measured again. Results showed that participants interviewed in a non-supportive style were more likely to provide incorrect answers to misleading questions. Furthermore, participants who scored highly on both trait and post-interview state anxiety measures more often responded incorrectly to misleading questions. Also, pre-to post-interview changes in state anxiety were correlated with more incorrect responses to misleading questions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on three studies of shy behavior in Mainland Chinese children. In Study 1 (N= 107, Mage = 10.05), a Chinese Shyness Scale (CSS) was developed based on Chinese teachers' open-ended descriptions of children's shy behavior. In Study 2 (N= 388, Mage = 10.80) and Study 3 (N= 198, Mage = 10.20), the construct validity of the two forms of shyness that emerged in Study 1 (i.e., anxious shyness and regulated shyness) were examined in relation to children's social preference, temperament, and psychosocial adjustment. A distinct pattern of results was found for anxious shyness and regulated shyness. The findings highlight the role of culture in shaping expression of children's shy behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Impairments in either “cool” or “hot” processes may represent two pathways to deficient decision-making. Whereas cool processes are associated with cognitive and rational decisions, hot processes are associated with emotional, affective, and visceral processes. In this study, 168 boys were administered a card-playing task at ages 13 and 14 years to assess response perseveration. This task was designed to initially reward playing and gradually associate playing with punishment. Measures of subjective ordering (cool processes) and neuroticism (hot processes) at age 13 years were used to examine how these individual characteristics relate to perseveration over time. A decrease in perseveration from age 13 to 14 was associated with cool processes whereas hot processes were associated with response perseveration only over time. A complementary but simultaneous assessment of cool and hot processes, such as neuropsychological and personality tests, could facilitate treatment planning of children with behavioral problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland) was established in October 2002 to examine all aspects of the law, policy and provisions that affect people with mental health needs or a learning disability in Northern Ireland. Its report A Comprehensive Legislative Framework, which deals with the reform of law in this area, proposes significant change to mental health law, which is largely welcome. This article outlines some of those key changes and preliminary thoughts regarding the impact of some of the specific proposals on children and young people with mental health problems in Northern Ireland, highlighting those areas that warrant particular attention. Particular comment is made on current legislation and concerns regarding the funding and provision of child and adolescent services in Northern Ireland. Proposals in the Framework for the introduction of capacity legislation and the impact of such on children and young people with mental health problems are examined in light of recent legislative changes in Great Britain. Comment is also made on the need for significant changes in the law and policy regarding the provision of services and support to those children and young people with a personality disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Little is known about the influence of the personality of the child and the personalities of the child's parents on glycaemic control in Type 1 diabetes. Our objective was to examine the extent to which glycaemic control is associated with the child's and the parents’ stable personality traits, using the Big Five personality model as the basic framework. Methods Participants were 64 children (aged 6–16 years) with recent-onset Type 1 diabetes and their parents. Glycaemic control (HbA1c) was assessed at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after diagnosis; personality was assessed at 4–6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year after diagnosis. Associations of personality with mean HbA1c over 2 years were examined. Results Children with better glycaemic control had a personality pattern of high Agreeableness, high Conscientiousness and low Neuroticism. Mothers of children with better glycaemic control showed a similar personality pattern, whereas the personality of the father was only marginally related to glycaemic control. Children's Conscientiousness and mothers’ Agreeableness together predicted 18% of the variability in mean HbA1c. All associations were unchanged when we controlled for child's age. Conclusions Glycaemic control in the child was associated with the same child and maternal personality characteristics that influence treatment adherence, health-promoting behaviours and general adjustment in adult populations. In future, studies are needed to examine attitudinal and behavioural mediators of this relationship. It is suggested that attention to the personalities of the child and the mother can help to tailor diabetes education to the individual child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study was to explore young children's attitudes and responses to different forms of social withdrawal by eliciting responses to hypothetical vignettes. Participants included 137 children (49 boys, 88 girls) in kindergarten and grade 1 classes ( Mage = 75.94 months, SD = 9.03) in Ottawa, Canada. Parents rated child characteristics, including shyness, unsociability and aggression. Children were also interviewed individually and presented with a series of hypothetical vignettes describing the behaviors of shy, unsociable, aggressive and socially competent children. In response to each vignette, children were asked a series of questions designed to assess their perceptions, attitudes and responses toward each child behavior. Results suggested that young children made surprisingly sophisticated distinctions between shyness and unsociability, demonstrating differences in terms of attributions of behavioral intent, liking and sympathetic responses. In addition, unsociable children evidenced a distinct pattern of responses to hypothetical peers. These findings add to the growing body of research distinguishing different forms of social withdrawal, and shed some light as to why unsociability in early childhood may not be so benign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine gender differences in the peer relations of children with congenital neurodevelopmental conditions (NDC). Participants: Thirty-four children with cerebral palsy or spina bifida and 41 typically developing (TD) children, ages 6-12. Measures: Personality Inventory for Children-Second Edition (PIC-2), Social Network Inventory for Children-Child Version, and the Friendship Quality Questionnaire-Revised (FQQ-R). Results: Children with NDC report smaller social networks and lower qnality of friendships than TD peers. Group x Gender interaction effects were not significant. Conclusion" Prior to adolescence, the social differences and risks associated with NDC do not appear to be gender specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging research on psychopathy in children and adolescents raises the question of whether indicators, such as temperament or psychophysiology, exist very early in life in those with a psychopathic-like personality in adulthood. This study tests the hypothesis that individuals who are more psychopathic in adulthood would be less fearful and inhibited and more stimulation seeking/sociable at age 3 and that they would also show reduced age 3 skin-conductance (SC) responsivity. In a community sample of 335 3-year-olds, behavioral measures of temperament were taken and electrodermal activity was recorded in response to both orienting and aversive tones. R. D. Hare's (1985) Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP-II) was administered at follow-up at age 28. Individuals scoring higher on the measure were significantly less fearful and inhibited, were more sociable, and displayed longer SC half-recovery times to aversive stimuli compared with controls at age 3. Contrary to predictions, they also showed increased autonomic arousal and SC orienting. Findings appear to be the first to suggest that a prospective link may exist between temperament and psychophysiology in very young children and psychopathic personality in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study with five-year-olds is the first to examine whether low-quality interactions with parents elicit physiological stress in children beyond toddlerhood, as evident from elevated cortisol levels in their saliva. It was hypothesised that particularly children with low levels of ego-resiliency −a personality construct reflecting the capacity to cope with stress − would show cortisol increases during low-quality parent–child interactions. Method: In a sample of 101 five-year-old children (62 boys), parent–child interaction was observed at home during parent–child discourse that involved the recollection and discussion of emotional events that happened to the child in the past. Saliva samples to assess cortisol levels were collected before and 20 minutes after the parent–child discourse task. The children's teacher rated child ego-resiliency using a Dutch translation of the California Child Q-set (CCQ; Block & Block, 1980 ). Results: One of the two parent–child interaction factors that emerged from a principal component analysis, namely negative parent–child interactions, was significantly related to the children's cortisol reaction; more negative parent–child interactions elicited significantly stronger cortisol reactions. The other parent–child interaction factor that was found, i.e., effective guidance, was not significantly related to children's cortisol reaction. As predicted, children low on ego-resiliency showed increases in cortisol during negative interactions with their parents, whereas high ego-resilient children did not. Conclusions: The association between negative parent–child interactions and cortisol elevations in children may point to a likely mechanism through which negative parent–child interactions contribute to negative developmental outcomes as the repeated exposure to high levels of cortisol have earlier been found to negatively affect children's development and functioning in various areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To investigate the prevalence of Internet addiction among Chinese adolescents and to explore the psychological features associated with Internet addiction. Methods A total of 2620 high school students from four high schools in Changsha City were surveyed using Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction (YDQ), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (the edition for children, EPQ), Time Management Disposition Scale (TMDS) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The mean age of whole sample was 15.19 years (ranging from 12 years to 18 years). According to the modified YDQ criteria by Beard, 64 students who were diagnosed as Internet addiction (the mean age: 14.59 years) and 64 who were diagnosed as being normal in Internet usage (the mean age: 14.81 years) were included in a case–control study. Results The rate of Internet use among the surveyed adolescents was 88%, among which the incidence rate of Internet addiction was 2.4%. The Internet addiction group had significantly higher scores on the EPQ subscales of neuroticism, psychoticism, and lie than the control group ( P < 0.05). The Internet addiction group scored lower than the control group on the TMDS subscales of sense of control over time, sense of value of time, and sense of time efficacy ( P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the Internet addiction group had also significantly higher scores on the SDQ subscales of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, total difficulties and lower scores on the subscale of prosocial behaviours ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The present study suggests that Internet addiction is not rare among Chinese adolescents. In addition, adolescents with Internet addiction possess different psychological features when compared with those who use the Internet less frequently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights a three-point screening tool to identify whether a shy patient is suffering from social anxiety disorder. This tool assesses whether the patient's fear of embarrassment causes him or her to avoid speaking to people, whether he or she avoid activities in which he or she is the center of attention or whether looking stupid is one of his or her worst fears. Social anxiety differs from shyness in children in its ability to debilitate the child's ability to grow and develop socially in an appropriate manner.

Both childhood trauma (CT) and genetic factors contribute to the pathophysiology of depression. We studied the relationship of CT to age of onset (AO) of depression, personality traits, and expression of symptom dimensions in 324 adults with recurrent unipolar depression. Subjects received structured psychiatric interviews and completed CT, depressive symptom, and personality rating questionnaires. Experience of at least one type of trauma was reported by 79.9% of subjects, and the most common forms of trauma were physical neglect, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect. There was an earlier AO of depression in the groups that reported CT compared to those that reported none, with earliest AO occurring in those who had experienced the highest levels of CT. There were no significant correlations between overall CT scores and neuroticism or extraversion. Total CT was a significant (P=.008) predictor of the Mood symptom dimension, mostly accounted for by emotional abuse (P=.019), and physical neglect predicted the Anxiety symptom dimension (P=.002). All types of CT are commonly reported in individuals with depression, and emotional abuse and physical neglect, though previously less well identified, appear to have an important role in the pathogenesis of depressive disorders. The effect of CT on individuals with an underlying genetic vulnerability to depression may result in differences in depressive phenotype characterized by earlier AO of depression and the expression of specific depressive symptom dimensions. Depression and Anxiety 24:163–168, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a discussion of the psychological outcomes in children ages six to twelve. The article cites the four stages of human development and mentions that at the end of the four periods, the individual personality is thought of as developed and complete in regard to the aspects that permit the individual to be part of a society, venture into a career, life's work, or mission. The contributions of a Montessori environment to children who are included in the second plane of development, are also discussed. The focus, as implied, should be placed on self-discipline and character. Social, cognitive, emotional, and moral developments in children in the second stage are also presented.

During one of the several unsuccessful admission interviews I had before finally being admitted to a graduate program, an interviewer asked me what kind of research I would like to do as a psychologist. "I plan to validate the Rorschach" was my reply. "And what will you do if you find the Rorschach isn't valid?" was the interviewer's next question. I don't recall my answer but it was obviously inadequate because such an unlikely possibility hadn't occurred to me, and I wasn't admitted to that program. Looking back, it is very clear how one thing led to another so that instead of validating the Rorschach, I ended up exploring the contribution of genetic factors to stress ulcers in rats and children's personality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to explore kindergarten teachers' attitudes and beliefs toward hypothetical children who frequently displayed certain types of behaviors with peers in the classroom. Participants were 202 kindergarten teachers from 4 provinces in Canada. Teachers responded to hypothetical vignettes describing children exhibiting shy, unsociable, aggressive, and prosocial behaviors. Beliefs assessed included teachers' tolerances of the behaviors, their behavioral attributions, the estimated academic and social costs to the child as a result of these behaviors, and teachers' responses to each hypothetical child. Teachers reported unique patterns of beliefs and responses toward each of the different types of children described. Not surprisingly, results indicated that teachers had the harshest beliefs toward the aggressive children. However, teachers also clearly distinguished between hypothetical children who were shy versus unsociable, whereas previous research has confounded these behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of the links between teacher beliefs/responses and child socioemotional adjustment at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I analyze longitudinal case studies of five Chinese families to account for the tensions underlying widespread Chinese discourses about the unsatisfactory personalities and behaviors of children born under China's one-child policy. I argue that these tensions result from a mismatch between the simple values of excellence, independence, obedience, caring/sociableness that Chinese parents tell their children to abide by and the more complex, difficult-to-conceive, and difficult-to-articulate cultural models Chinese parents actually want their children to develop. This dissonance arises for a number of reasons: (1) The values at stake are often mutually contradictory; (2) Parents have difficulty identifying and articulating the situated cultural models they want their children to use to match values to contexts; (3) Children fail to understand and internalize the complex cultural models their parents want them to develop; and (4) Parents' desires to transmit their own cultural models to their children conflict with their desires for children to develop superior cultural models that would enable them to attain upward mobility. Chinese singletons' inability to meet their parents' expectations should thus be seen not merely as a result of the singleton status popular Chinese discourses often blamed for the younger generation's failings but also as a result of their status (shared with many other children worldwide) as rapidly developing children in a rapidly changing world. My findings suggest that studies of cultural models should pay more attention to discrepancies between verbal glosses and the conceptual complexity of the cultural models underlying them, and to the transformations that occur in the process of internalizing and integrating diverse sources of social information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: General intelligence and personality traits from the Five-Factor model were studied as predictors of academic achievement in a large sample of Estonian schoolchildren from elementary to secondary school. A total of 3618 students (1746 boys and 1872 girls) from all over Estonia attending Grades 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 participated in this study. Intelligence, as measured by the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices, was found to be the best predictor of students’ grade point average (GPA) in all grades. Among personality traits (measured by self-reports on the Estonian Big Five Questionnaire for Children in Grades 2 to 4 and by the NEO Five Factor Inventory in Grades 6 to 12), Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness correlated positively and Neuroticism correlated negatively with GPA in almost every grade. When all measured variables were entered together into a regression model, intelligence was still the strongest predictor of GPA, being followed by Agreeableness in Grades 2 to 4 and Conscientiousness in Grades 6 to 12. Interactions between predictor variables and age accounted for only a small percentage of variance in GPA, suggesting that academic achievement relies basically on the same mechanisms through the school years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of the study was to examine the association between avoidant personality traits and motor impairment in childhood. The relationship between other personality traits and motor function was also explored. A population-based screened sample of 150 11-12-year-old children (50 socially anxious, 50 impulsive and 50 nonsocially anxious/nonimpulsive) was assessed using the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children (CPNI) and the Motor Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Among the personality scales, avoidant personality traits were most strongly associated with motor impairment. Children with clinically avoidant personality traits (n = 31) showed a significantly poorer motor performance than children in the nonclinical avoidance group (n = 119). About 50% of the children with clinical avoidance obtained a motor score below the 5th percentile. No gender differences in motor performance were found in the clinical avoidance group. More research on the impact of motor impairment on psychological development is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectrum hypothesis, postulating that differences between referred and non-referred samples are confined to mean level differences, is elaborated by exploring whether the covariation between child problem behaviour and its predictors—child personality and parenting, rated by mothers—is similar in referred (N = 205) and non-referred (N = 596) children and whether personality by parenting interactions can be generalized across samples. Results showed significant mean level differences for all the variables. Both personality and parenting explained problem behaviour, with some differences in strength of the effects across samples. Parenting by personality interactions mainly predicted externalizing behaviour, with benevolence and conscientiousness as the most prominent moderators. Results confirmed that moderators of problem behaviour operate similarly in the two samples, thus corroborating the spectrum hypothesis. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Phenotypic, genetic, and environmental correlations between measured intelligence and caregiver-provided ratings of personality were examined in a sample of 4- to 6-year-old twin children (N =680 individuals). Personality ratings were factor analyzed. Five factors were extracted and labelled: agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and psychoticism. Univariate genetic analyses conducted on the same-sex pairs (101 MZ pairs and 132 same-sex DZ pairs) demonstrated that all of the personality factors had heritable components (range=31–86%). Performance and full-scale intelligence were also found to have heritable components, but verbal intelligence was better explained by environmental factors. At the phenotypic level, agreeableness and conscientiousness correlated positively with intelligence and neuroticism and psychoticism correlated negatively with intelligence. Multivariate genetic analyses revealed that some of the observed phenotypic correlations could be explained by common genetic factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although relations between children’s personality and health behaviors have been identified, previous research has relied primarily on survey assessments. The present study used behavioral observations to examine children’s (n =94, mean age=10.07years) behavioral patterns in relation to their participation in risk behaviors 1year later. Results contribute to previous reports linking specific personality traits to children’s likelihood of participation in risky behaviors. Specifically, girls’ participation in risky behavior was related to the expression of behavioral patterns associated with neuroticism, introversion, and disagreeableness, while boys participation in risk behaviors was related to behavioral patterns associated with extraversion and disagreeableness. Findings are discussed in terms of their potential for contributing to health promotion efforts aimed at identifying children most at risk for adopting unhealthy behaviors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of the current study was to elaborate the nomological net surrounding the constructs of reactive (RA) and proactive aggression (PA). Typically examined in the context of children, the current study utilized a sample of 211 young adults to examine the relations between reactive and proactive aggression and measures of general personality and social information processing, as well as maladaptive behavioral correlates such as crime, substance use, and riskier sex. Both raw and residualized scores were examined. Using raw scores, the primary differences between RA and PA were related to Neuroticism (i.e., RA more strongly related) and externalizing behaviors (i.e., PA more strongly). The authors comment on the similarity of findings when using raw scores and the divergence of findings using residualized scores and argue for a cautious interpretation of differences based on residualized scores. The authors conclude that the role of Neuroticism warrants further exploration as a means for understanding the heterogeneity of aggressive behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Personality characteristics of the intellectually gifted living under poverty conditions are described, following the Rorschach Psychodiagnostic test. Participants were 55 boys and girls (27 intellectual gifted, 28 non-gifted), age range 9-12, previously selected with the Multi-factorial model of giftedness for a former study. Results revealed that the intellectually gifted children exhibit the following personality characteristics: (a) tendency to approach situations from personal reflections; (b) sophisticated emotional resources; (c) high levels of initiative and creativity; (d) tendency to perfectionism; (e) need to control situations; (f) unconventionality; (h) high levels of sensibility; (i) oppositeness, as well as (j) insight resources. They also exhibit characteristics expected in poverty contexts such as cautiousness and low level of self-confidence, high levels of stress and alert towards the environment, as well as tendency to depression. Recommendations for intervention purposes are given, as well as the need to develop research lines from a multidisciplinary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyses free descriptions that mothers made of their child's personality. 210 descriptions of 3- and 9-year-old children were collected and analysed with respect to the five-factor model of personality. According to a first content analysis frame, personality descriptors, mainly trait adjectives and behavioural descriptors, have been coded with respect to the five factors of personality. Although mothers were only asked to describe their children's personality, their descriptions included different types of non-descriptive information. Mothers use social comparisons; they refer to stability or change as their child grows older and to consistency or inconsistency across contexts and moments; they give explanations of their child's personality. Finally, they refer to various forms of their childrearing behaviour. These qualifiers of the children's personality have been coded according to a second frame for content analysis and analysed with respect to the children's age, gender and mothers' educational level. They have also been correlated with the positive and negative polarity of the descriptors of personality. Finally, a microanalysis has been carried out for stability vs. change across time and consistency vs. inconsistency across situations and moments. Results indicate that mothers of 3-year-olds refer more often to stimulating childrearing behaviour than mothers of 9-year-olds. Explanations provided by mothers vary according to their educational level. Mothers referred more to intraindividual variations according to time and situations for girls than for boys. It also appeared that mothers qualified behaviour or traits that they thought were not “normal”. Furthermore they considered change in a positive direction and described their child's behaviour and traits as inconsistent across situations and moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study describes the construction of a taxonomy of trait-related symptoms in childhood, the Dimensional Personality Symptom Item Pool (DIPSI), and examines the replicability of the taxonomy's higher order structure across maternal ratings of referred (N = 205) and nonreferred (N = 242) children and self-ratings of adolescents (N = 453). The DIPSI's 4 higher order factors—that is, Emotional Instability, Disagreeableness, Introversion, and Compulsivity—showed clear correspondence with the dimensions of personality pathology found in adulthood (Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology—Basic Questionnaire; W. J. Livesley, 1990; Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality; L. A. Clark, 1993). These 4 factors can be further organized into 2 superfactors, representing Internalizing and Externalizing Traits, demonstrating empirical and conceptual relationships with psychopathology models in childhood and adulthood. The implications for the assessment and conceptualization of early trait pathology are discussed in the context of an integrative developmental perspective on the construction of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fifth Edition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines 5 types of personality continuity-structural, mean-level, individual-level, differential, and ipsative in a representative population (N = 498) and a twin and sibling sample (TV = 548) of children and adolescents. Parents described their children on 2 successive occasions with a 36-month interval using the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (I. Mervielde & F. De Fruyt, 1999). There was evidence for structural continuity in the 2 samples, and personality was shown to be largely differentially stable. A large percentage had a stable trait profile indicative of ipsative stability, and mean-level personality changes were generally small in magnitude. Continuity findings were explained mainly by genetic and nonshared environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnational adoption has become a major means for involuntarily childless people to become a family, and for people who do not want to go through the ‘normal’ procedures to obtain a child. In this paper we present a comparative analysis of some pertinent features pertaining to the understanding of kinship that arise out of the practice of transnational adoption in Norway and Spain. For a variety of reasons, these two countries have achieved a leading role in the world of transnational adoption in so far as they adopt more children per capita than any other country. This is particularly interesting in light of the very different social and political situation of these two countries. Our focus will be on the concepts employed in the kinning process by adoptive parents and on how they symbolize bodies and personalities in attempts to create meaningful resemblances between themselves and their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of the current investigation was to examine both social behaviors (i.e., aggression, shyness-withdrawal, and prosocial tendencies) and social understanding (i.e., attitudes and responses to such behaviors in hypothetical peers) of empathic and low-empathic children. Participants were 136 children in kindergarten and grade one. Parents completed ratings of child empathy, shyness, aggression, and prosocial tendencies. Children were presented with vignettes depicting prosocial, aggressive, or shy peers, and asked questions concerning their understanding and responses towards these behaviors. Results indicated that as compared to low-empathic peers, more empathic children were reported to exhibit greater prosocial behavior and less aggression and social-withdrawal. In addition, empathic children demonstrated a more sophisticated understanding of shyness and aggression as compared to less empathic peers. These results suggest that empathic children are more socially sensitive, both in terms of their social understanding of others as well as their own social behaviors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study aimed at specifying the content of the representational redescription (RR) process assumed by Karmiloff-Smith (1992) with respect to the emergence of interrepresentational flexibility in children's drawing behaviour. We hypothesized that the RR process included part-whole decomposition processes that are essential to the ability to produce cross-categorical drawings. We presented 5- to 9-year-old children with either a two-part (TP) or a several-part (SP) decomposition task involving a house and a man (experimental conditions) or with no such decomposition task (control condition), prior to a connection task (drawing a man-house). The results showed that connection performances were better in children who had previously decomposed the objects into two parts than in children assigned to the control group. This positive ‘priming’ effect was attributed to the activation of part-whole analysis processes that further facilitated the management of complex connections between the objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]