STABILITY AND CHANGE IN PERSONALITY - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY FROM EARLY ADOLESCENCE TO YOUNG ADULTHOOD

This study examines change and stability in personality between early adolescence and young adulthood. Subjects were 654 young adults (193 males, 461 females) who have been participating in an 8-year longitudinal study. Comparisons were made between measurements on 15 personality traits taken at 4-year intervals: Year 1, Year 5, and Year 9. Stability was assessed using correlations and change was measured through comparisons of mean levels of trait scores. Correlational results indicated continuity of personality between all intervals with the greatest stability to be found between the last two testing periods. Significant changes in mean levels were also evidenced for 10 out of the 15 personality traits. Changes, influenced by the moderator variable of sex, were in the direction of becoming more like societal expectations for adult roles.