The Influence of Moving Countries During Childhood on Personality Development

Abstract


 
 
 
 There exists superfluous research regarding adults adjusting to a new culture, however, research relating to children’s experiences are lacking. While academic conversations have established expatriates as possessing different characteristics to non-expatriates, specific factors are missing. A central question in this study was how third-culture kids (TCKs) differ from children who remain local in terms of extroversion and introversion. The study also investigated what types of moves produce different personality traits and levels of belonging. The intent of this study was to fill a gap in literature and illuminate children’s effects of moving as patterns generated in childhood remain in adulthood. This correlational study utilizes surveys, including a personality test, for both expatriates and non-expatriates and narrative inquiries for the expatriate sample when finding expatriates to possess more introverted tendencies compared to non-expatriates. Among expatriates, enjoyable moves indicated higher extroverted tendencies compared to less enjoyable moves. Moreover, expatriates are found to have less sense of belonging compared to non-expatriates overall. This statistic continues to decline when isolating negative moves. The study posits more research is required in order to prove a definitive cause-and-effect relationship between moving and personality as this study can only suggest said pattern. The findings indicate child expatriates as needing greater support when adjusting to new cultures as they generally become more reserved and lack a sense of belonging.