Mapping the Landscape of Personality in Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

From infancy, children vary in their typical emotions and behaviors, and by the middle of childhood, children have richly differentiated personalities. In this paper, I review the personality differences that youths exhibit from early childhood through adolescence, using a three-part taxonomy developed by (McAdams, D. P., & Pals, J. L. American Psychologist, 2006; 61, 204–217). First, children exhibit a dispositional signature, including first temperament traits and later the Big Five personality traits, which show some consistency across situations and over time. Second, youths display characteristic adaptations that are more specific to particular life contexts; these include mental representations, strategies, and goals. Third, adolescents form personal narratives, stories about their lives that reflect and shape their identities. I describe the differences youths exhibit in these three domains and situate these differences in the context of overall development in childhood and adolescence. New work on youths’ personalities can serve as the foundation for future lifespan perspectives on personality development. From the earliest days of life, children vary from one another in their typical emotions and behaviors. Parents often marvel at these early-emerging differences in their children. Some young children cry loudly, and often, some children squeal with delight at the sight of friendly faces or exciting toys, and some children focus intently on interesting new items and activities. As infants move into later childhood, their repertoire of behaviors grows increasingly complex, as they develop physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally. As children’s behavioral repertoire expands, so, too, do their individual differences. By the elementary school years and continuing into adolescence, youths vary markedly from one another in many different ways: their typical emotions; their capacities for empathy, self-control, and imagination; their goals and expectations; their views of relationships and themselves; their ways of coping with stress and adversity; their emerging stories about who they are; and more. In short, by the middle of childhood, children have richly differentiated personalities. Parents, teachers, mental health clinicians, and policy makers all have a vested interest in understanding children’s personalities. Adults who care about children want to know whether children’s personalities portend and shape their life outcomes. Are children with certain personalities at risk for educational failure or for criminal behavior? What character traits and capacities are especially important for enabling children to become happy, productive, resilient people? Can children with challenging personalities be helped to develop in a positive manner? The answers to these questions are important for adults who are invested in helping children to flourish. To make good progress in answering these questions, however, it is important to begin with a clear understanding of what form children’s personalities take at various points in development. Given the dizzying