Personality Changes During Adolescence Across Cultures

Abstract

The study of personality development in adolescence is a relatively new enterprise, with most of the research in this field having been conducted in the last 10 years. Reasons for the delayed interest in personality changes during adolescence are in the early views on personality development, the lack of a shared model and consensus on measuring stability versus change, and the focus of trait psychology on the adult personality. There are two broad views on the Big-Five personality development in adolescence: one which advocates adolescence as a key period of change, and another, which considers young adulthood to be more important. Regarding the changes in personality dimensions, research findings are mixed; but there are indications that after adolescence Extraversion decreases, Openness (Intellect) increases, while Agreeableness and Conscientiousness follow a curvilinear trend, decreasing in adolescence and increasing in early adulthood. The direction of change for Emotional Stability is still unclear. Personality traits in adolescence are related to important life outcomes; however, cross-cultural studies are still scarce.