3 - Personality development in adolescence

Abstract

This chapter discusses personality development during the adolescent years. First, we discuss typologies and taxonomies commonly employed to describe adolescent personality, focusing on the relative utility of the Big Five personality classification scheme for adolescents. Second, we discuss personality trait change during the adolescent years, describing both the lack of clear normative age trends, as well as the capacity for variability in individual-level trajectories of change. Third, we consider two primary frameworks that may inform our predictions of individual-level fluctuations in personality change, namely the identity development and maturation processes ongoing in adolescence. Fourth, we touch upon the recent investigations into the development of narcissistic ideation and traits, as well as the evidence for normative or cross-cohort trends in adolescent narcissism. Finally, we consider future directions for research on adolescent personality development.