Personality Structure as Derived From Parental Ratings of Free Descriptions of Children: The Inventory of Child Individual Differences

Abstract

Based on over 50,000 parental descriptors of children gathered in eight different countries, we used a combination of focus group sorting of descriptors in each country and factor analyses of instruments developed in four of the countries (United States, China, Greece, and the Netherlands) to describe children ages 3 to 12 years to select items for an instrument that would work well across countries to access personality. Through many factor analyses of indigenous items in each country, a core set of 141 items was used in three of the countries, with over 3000 parents responding to our instruments in China, Greece, and the United States. Much cross-comparative research analysis has resulted in 15 robust midlevel scales that describe the structures of parental descriptors that are common to the three countries. The data on the English (U.S.) sample are presented in detail. Links to temperament and behavior problems are presented and discussed.

The developmental psychometrics of big five self-reports: Acquiescence, factor structure, coherence, and differentiation from ages 10 to 20.

“…Recent reviews of the available literature (Caspi & Shiner, 2006;Shiner, 2006) have offered two conclusions. On the one hand, some researchers have moved toward accepting the Big Five as a representation of basic personality trait dimensions in childhood and adolescence (e.g., Digman, 1994;Goldberg, 2001;Halverson et al, 2003;Kohnstamm, Halverson, Mervielde, & Havill, 1998). On the other hand, several findings are not easily reconciled with the canonical Big Five structure (e.g., Hampson & Goldberg, 2006;John, Caspi, Robins, Moffitt, & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1994;Lamb, Chuang, Wessels, Broberg, & Hwang, 2002;van Lieshout & Haselager, 1994), and further research is needed before the issue can be considered settled.…”

“…Second, the rather clear five-factor structure that we obtained even at age 10 does not prove that the Big Five constitutes a comprehensive set of basic personality dimensions in late childhood. Thus, there is a need for more research designed to directly address the issue of basic structure (e.g., Goldberg, 2001;Halverson et al, 2003;John et al, 1994;Kohnstamm et al, 1998;van Lieshout & Haselager, 1994).…”

“…Now, knowing that personality self-reports show some structural validity even by age 10, future studies should examine external validity. Adult descriptions of youths' personalities are known to predict important social, academic, and mental health outcomes (e.g., Halverson et al, 2003;John et al, 1994). Are youths' self-reports also predictive of these outcomes?…”

Relación Entre La Ansiedad Social Y Las Dimensiones De La Personalidad en Adolescentes Españoles

“…Utilizando las mismas dimensiones del modelo de cinco factores a través del Inventory of Child Individual Differences (ICID; Halverson et al, 2003) y en una muestra más amplia (n=1013; rango de edad: 3-18 años), Slobodskaya (2007) encontró una alta relación entre neuroticismo autoinformado y problemas de relación con los compañeros.…”

Nature and Structure of Temperament in Early and Middle Childhood: A Multi-Method Approach

“…Several researchers have provided evidence for the five-factor structure from parent-report measures in older children and adolescents (e.g., Barbaranelli, Caprara, Rabasca, & Pastorelli, 2003;John, Caspi, Robins, Moffit, & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1994), teacher-reports (e.g., Barbaranelli et al, 2003;Digman & Shmelyov, 1996;Goldberg, 2001;Graziano & Ward, 1992;Mervielde, Buyst, & De Fruyt, 1995), and self-reports (e.g., Barbaranelli et al, 2003;De Fruyt, Mervielde, Hoekstra, & Roland, 2000;Markey, Markey, Tinsley, & Erikson, 2002). However, despite several attempts at recovering the same structure in younger samples (e.g., Abe, 2005;Abe & Izard, 1999;Halverson, Havill, Deal, Baker,Victor, Pavlopoulous et al, 2003;Tackett, Slobodskaya, Mar, Deal, Halverson, Baker et al, 2012), the evidence for a five-factor model of personality in childhood remains unclear (e.g., Measelle, John, Ablow, Cowan, & Cowan, 2005;Mervielde et al, 1995). In particular, have argued that more than five traits are necessary to capture the meaningful variance in child temperament/personality.…”