CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 3,241Personality Traits and PsychologyPersonality Disorders and PsychopathologyPsychological Testing and Assessment

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 7 of the 7 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies.

Roberts, Brent W., DelVecchio, Wendy F.·2000·Psychological Bulletin
DOI 10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.3
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The present study used meta-analytic techniques to test whether trait consistency maximizes and stabilizes at a specific period in the life course. From 152 longitudinal studies, 3,217 test-retest correlation coefficients were compiled. Meta-analytic estimates of mean population test-retest correlation coefficients showed that trait consistency increased from .31 in childhood to .54 during the college years, to .64 at age 30, and then reached a plateau around .74 between ages 50 and 70 when time interval was held constant at 6.7 years. Analysis of moderators of consistency showed that the longitudinal time interval had a negative relation to trait consistency and that temperament dimensions were less consistent than adult personality traits.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.3

Cites

7 of 7 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Show all 7 references

Research works printed but not linked: 231

  1. Adams, 1981, Ego stage and identity status development: A cross-lag analysis., Journal of Adolescence, 4, 163, 10.1016/S0140-1971(81)80035-8 · DOI
  2. 10.1037/0278-6133.13.6.488 · DOI
  3. Ahadi, 1994, Temperament, development, and the Big Five., 189
  4. Alder, 1994, Using growth curve analyses to assess personality change and stability in adulthood., 149, 10.1037/10143-007 · DOI
  5. Aldwin, 1994, Aging and personality assessment., 182
  6. 10.1037/0012-1649.26.5.721 · DOI · Paper page
  7. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1991.tb00927.x · DOI
  8. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1981.tb00734.x · DOI
  9. 10.1037/h0033335 · DOI
  10. 10.2307/1129357 · DOI
  11. 10.1016/0191-8869(89)90078-0 · DOI
  12. 10.1037/0012-1649.22.5.595 · DOI
  13. Bem, 1974, The measurement of psychological androgyny., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 165, 10.1037/h0036215 · DOI · Paper page
  14. Birren, 1985, Research on the psychology of aging: Principles, concepts and theory., 3
  15. Block, 1971, Lives through time.
  16. Block, 1993, Studying personality the long way., 9, 10.1037/10127-018 · DOI
  17. 10.1037/0022-3514.70.2.349 · DOI
  18. 10.2307/1131226 · DOI
  19. 10.1037/h0037047 · DOI
  20. Bloom, 1964, Stability and change in human characteristics.
  21. Bolton. Longitudinal stability of the primary and secondary dimensions of the 16PF-E. 4 67 1979 · DOI
  22. 10.2307/1130883 · DOI
  23. 10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.591 · DOI
  24. 10.2307/1126435 · DOI
  25. 10.2307/1129468 · DOI
  26. Buss, 1975, Temperament: Early developing personality traits.
  27. 10.1037/0022-3514.53.6.1214 · DOI
  28. 10.2307/1129273 · DOI
  29. 10.1016/0191-8869(90)90275-V · DOI
  30. Cairns, 1983, Continuity in social development: A comparative perspective on individual difference prediction., 301
  31. Cantoni, 1955, A study in emotional adjustment: The correlation of student and adult forms of the Bell Adjustment Inventory over a period of thirteen years., Educational and Psychological Measurement, 15, 137, 10.1177/001316445501500206 · DOI
  32. Caputo, 1966, Test-retest reliability of the EPPS., Educational and Psychological Measurement, 26, 883, 10.1177/001316446602600408 · DOI
  33. 10.1007/BF00846148 · DOI
  34. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00792.x · DOI
  35. 10.1016/0273-2297(88)90010-X · DOI
  36. 10.1037/0022-3514.58.2.250 · DOI
  37. Caspi, 1999, Personality continuity and change across the life course., 300
  38. 10.2307/1131592 · DOI
  39. 10.1037/0012-1649.24.6.824 · DOI
  40. Cattell, 1975, Handbook for the Jr.-Sr. High School Personality Questionnaire "HSPQ., Urbana (Caracas, Venezuela), IL
  41. Clarke, 1984, Constancy and change in the growth of human characteristics., Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 25, 191, 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1984.tb00144.x · DOI
  42. Clausen, 1993, American lives: Looking back at the children of the Great Depression.
  43. 10.1016/0191-8869(84)90133-8 · DOI
  44. 10.1037/0022-3514.47.6.1325 · DOI
  45. 10.1037/0022-3514.49.5.1266 · DOI
  46. Costa, 1977-1978, Age differences in personality structure revisited: Studies in validity, stability, and change., International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 8, 261, 10.2190/AWYD-QT2L-WVNM-4F98 · DOI
  47. 10.1037/0022-3514.54.5.853 · DOI
  48. Costa, 1992, Multiple uses for longitudinal personality data., European Journal of Personality, 6, 85, 10.1002/per.2410060203 · DOI
  49. Costa, 1997, Longitudinal stability of adult personality., 269, 10.1016/B978-012134645-4/50012-3 · DOI
  50. 10.1037/0022-3514.38.5.793 · DOI
  51. Crook, 1941, Retest correlations in neuroticism., The Journal of General Psychology, 24, 173, 10.1080/00221309.1941.10544366 · DOI
  52. Crook, 1943, A retest with the Thurstone Personality Schedule after six and one-half years., The Journal of General Psychology, 28, 111, 10.1080/00221309.1943.10545198 · DOI
  53. 10.1016/0092-6566(91)90006-C · DOI
  54. Davis, 1969, Personality profiles of student teachers., The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 39, 183, 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1969.tb02061.x · DOI
  55. Denham, 1995, Continuity and change in emotional components of infant temperament., Child Study Journal, 25, 289
  56. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1989.tb00480.x · DOI
  57. 10.1037/0022-3514.50.1.116 · DOI
  58. 10.1037/0022-3514.71.2.341 · DOI
  59. Dudek. Personality consistency: Eminent architects 25 years later. 4 213 1991 · DOI
  60. Eaton, 1994, Temperament, development, and the five-factor model: Lessons from activity level., 173
  61. Eder, 1997, The emotional basis of early personality development: Implications for the emergent self-concept., 209, 10.1016/B978-012134645-4/50010-X · DOI
  62. 10.1037/0012-1649.23.5.712 · DOI
  63. Elder, 1979, Historical change in life patterns and personality., Vol. 2, 117
  64. 10.1037/h0033721 · DOI
  65. 10.1207/s15327752jpa4406_1 · DOI
  66. 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_3 · DOI
  67. Farnsworth, 1938, A genetic study of the Bernreuter Personality Inventory., The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 52, 3
  68. Farrington, 1978, The family backgrounds of aggressive youths., 73
  69. Feldman, 1997, Development across the life span.
  70. Field. Personality in advanced old age: Continuity or change? 46 299 1991 · DOI
  71. 10.1037/0022-3514.50.4.813 · DOI
  72. 10.1146/annurev.ps.36.020185.003145 · DOI
  73. Fiske, 1991, Social cognition.
  74. 10.1037/0012-1649.30.4.467 · DOI
  75. 10.1037/0022-3514.72.2.467 · DOI
  76. 10.1016/0191-8869(82)90049-6 · DOI
  77. Glenn, 1980, Values, attitudes, and beliefs., 596
  78. Gold, 1990, Daydreaming and curiosity: Stability and change in gifted children and adolescents., Adolescence, 25, 701
  79. 10.1037/0003-066X.48.1.26 · DOI · Paper page
  80. 10.2307/1131697 · DOI
  81. Gough, 1987, California Psychological Inventory: Administrator's guide.
  82. Gough, 1996, California Psychological Inventory Manual
  83. 10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1266 · DOI
  84. 10.1016/0191-8869(92)90190-Z · DOI
  85. Guerin, 1987, Minnesota Child Development Inventories: Predictors of intelligence, achievement, and adaptability., Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 12, 595, 10.1093/jpepsy/12.4.595 · DOI
  86. Guerin, 1994, Developmental stability and change in parent reports of temperament: A ten-year longitudinal investigation from infancy through preadolescence., Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 40, 334
  87. 10.1037/0882-7974.1.3.220 · DOI
  88. Hagberg. Stability and change of personality in old age and its relation to survival. 46 285 1991 · DOI
  89. Harkness, 1995, The theory and measurement of traits: Two views., 28
  90. Hathaway, 1963, Adolescent personality and behavior: MMPI patterns of normal, delinquent, dropout, other outcomes.
  91. Hedges, 1985, Statistical methods for meta-analysis.
  92. 10.1037/0012-1649.22.6.777 · DOI
  93. 10.2307/2092790 · DOI
  94. Hellervik, 1992, Behavior change: Models, methods, and a review of evidence., Vol. 3, 823
  95. 10.1037/0022-3514.53.1.176 · DOI
  96. Helson, 1994, Personality change in adulthood., 201, 10.1037/10143-009 · DOI
  97. 10.1037/0882-7974.7.1.46 · DOI
  98. 10.1037/0022-3514.69.6.1173 · DOI
  99. 10.1037/0022-3514.69.3.544 · DOI
  100. Higgins, 1983, Social cognition and the social life of the child: Stages as subcultures., 15
  101. Hogan, A socioanalytic perspective on person/environment interaction.
  102. Holmlund, 1991, Change and stability of needs from middle adolescence to young adulthood in Swedish females., European Journal of Personality, 5, 379, 10.1002/per.2410050505 · DOI
  103. Holmlund, 1992, Change and stability of masculinity-femininity from adolescence to adulthood in a sample of Swedish women., European Journal of Personality, 6, 237, 10.1002/per.2410060306 · DOI
  104. 10.1207/s15327043hup0501&2_8 · DOI
  105. 10.1037/0012-1649.20.6.1120 · DOI
  106. Hunter, 1991, Tracking of Type A behavior in children and young adults: The Bogalusa Heart Study., Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6, 71
  107. Ickes, 1997, Personality influences on the choice of situations., 166, 10.1016/B978-012134645-4/50008-1 · DOI
  108. James, 1950, The principles of psychology.
  109. Jessor, 1983, The stability of change: Psychosocial development from adolescence to young adulthood., 321
  110. 10.1037/0022-3514.71.4.763 · DOI
  111. 10.1037/0882-7974.11.1.57 · DOI
  112. 10.1037/h0045382 · DOI
  113. Kagan, 1962, Birth to maturity: A study in psychological development., 10.1037/13129-000 · DOI
  114. 10.1037/h0040747 · DOI
  115. 10.1007/BF00844931 · DOI
  116. 10.1037/0022-3514.70.5.1067 · DOI · Paper page
  117. 10.2307/1131849 · DOI
  118. 10.2307/1131828 · DOI
  119. Kogan, 1990, Personality and aging., 330, 10.1016/B978-0-12-101280-9.50026-7 · DOI
  120. Kohn, 1980, Job complexity and adult personality., 193
  121. 10.1086/226739 · DOI · Paper page
  122. 10.1037/h0032583 · DOI
  123. 10.2307/1127715 · DOI
  124. Korn, 1984, Continuities and discontinuities in difficult/easy temperament: Infancy to young adulthood., Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 30, 189
  125. 10.1037/0022-006X.47.3.517 · DOI
  126. 10.2307/1130315 · DOI
  127. Levinson, 1978, The seasons of a man's life.
  128. Linehan, 1993, Borderline personality disorder., 396
  129. Littwin, 1986, The postponed generation: Why America's grown-up kids are growing up later.
  130. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1990.tb00914.x · DOI
  131. 10.1037/h0023376 · DOI
  132. 10.1037/0022-3514.48.4.947 · DOI
  133. 10.1037/0021-843X.107.3.520 · DOI
  134. Magnusson, 1978, Longitudinal stability of person characteristics: Intelligence and creativity., Applied Psychological Measurement, 2, 481, 10.1177/014662167800200402 · DOI
  135. 10.1037/0012-1649.14.2.189 · DOI
  136. Martin, 1994, Review of factor analytic studies of temperament measures based on the Thomas-Chess structural model: Implications for the Big Five., 157
  137. 10.1037/0012-1649.21.3.523 · DOI
  138. 10.2307/1129696 · DOI
  139. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1989.tb00481.x · DOI
  140. McCrae, 1990, Personality in adulthood.
  141. 10.1111/1467-8721.ep10770693 · DOI
  142. McDevitt, 1986, Continuity and discontinuity of temperament in infancy and early childhood: A psychometric perspective., 27
  143. McDevitt, 1981, Stability of ratings vs. perceptions of temperament from early infancy to 1-3 years., The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 51, 342, 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1981.tb01379.x · DOI
  144. 10.1037/0012-1649.29.1.96 · DOI · Paper page
  145. 10.2307/1130714 · DOI
  146. McNeil, 1988, Stability of temperament characteristics in childhood., The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 58, 622, 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1988.tb01628.x · DOI
  147. Melamed, 1974, Three-year follow-up of women religious on the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire., Review of Religious Research, 15, 64, 10.2307/3510235 · DOI
  148. 10.1016/0191-8869(88)90081-5 · DOI
  149. Mischel, 1968, Personality and assessment.
  150. Mischel, 1992, Personality dispositions revisited and revised: A view after three decades., 111
  151. Modell, 1989, Into one's own: From youth to adulthood in the United States 1920-1975., 10.1525/9780520341371 · DOI
  152. Mortimer, 1982, Persistence and change in development: The multidimensional self-concept., Vol. 4, 263
  153. Moss, 1980, Longitudinal study of personality development., 530
  154. 10.1016/0191-8869(88)90087-6 · DOI
  155. Mussen, 1980, Continuity and change in women's characteristics over four decades., International Journal of Behavioral Development, 3, 333, 10.1177/016502548000300309 · DOI
  156. Myers, 1993, Manual: A guide to the development and use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
  157. Neprash, 1936, The reliability of questions in the Thurstone Personality Schedule., The Journal of Social Psychology, 7, 239, 10.1080/00224545.1936.9921665 · DOI
  158. Nesselroade, 1991, Interindividual differences in intraindividual change., 92
  159. Neugarten, 1968, The awareness of middle age., 93
  160. 10.2307/1161609 · DOI
  161. 10.1037/0022-3514.51.2.435 · DOI
  162. 10.1016/0193-3973(88)90026-3 · DOI
  163. 10.1207/s15374424jccp1802_9 · DOI
  164. 10.2307/1128488 · DOI
  165. 10.1037/0033-2909.86.4.852 · DOI · Paper page
  166. 10.1037/0022-3514.60.2.288 · DOI
  167. Ozer, 1986, Consistency in personality: A methodological framework., 10.1007/978-1-4612-4942-9 · DOI
  168. 10.1111/1467-6494.00057 · DOI
  169. 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1991.tb01769.x · DOI
  170. 10.1037/0012-1649.29.6.998 · DOI
  171. 10.1207/s15327965pli0502_1 · DOI
  172. Plant, 1965a, Longitudinal changes in intolerance and authoritarianism for subjects differing in amount of college education over four years., Genetic Psychology Monographs, 72, 247
  173. Plant, 1965b, Personality changes associated with college attendance., Human Development, 8, 142, 10.1159/000270298 · DOI
  174. Plant, 1966, Changes in personality for groups completing different amounts of college over two years., Genetic Psychology Monographs, 74, 3
  175. 10.1016/0191-8869(91)90245-7 · DOI
  176. 10.1007/BF02088728 · DOI
  177. 10.1007/BF02139136 · DOI
  178. Reznick, 1989, Behavioral inhibition in a normative sample., 25
  179. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00953.x · DOI · Paper page
  180. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00291.x · DOI
  181. 10.1037/0022-3514.72.3.641 · DOI
  182. 10.2307/1129970 · DOI
  183. Ross, 1991, The person and the situation.
  184. 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1989.tb00482.x · DOI
  185. 10.2307/1131047 · DOI · Paper page
  186. Sameroff, 1995, General systems theories and developmental psychopathology., 659
  187. 10.1080/016502596385532 · DOI
  188. Saudino, 1995, Continuity and change in objectively assessed temperament: A longitudinal twin study of activity level., The British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13, 81, 10.1111/j.2044-835X.1995.tb00666.x · DOI
  189. Schofield, 1953, A study of medical students with the MMPI: II. Group and individual changes after two years., The Journal of Psychology, 36, 137, 10.1080/00223980.1953.9712883 · DOI
  190. 10.1037/0022-3514.43.1.176 · DOI
  191. 10.1037/0022-3514.56.5.777 · DOI
  192. 10.1037/0033-2909.124.3.308 · DOI
  193. 10.1037/0022-3514.35.11.805 · DOI
  194. Skolnick, 1966, Stability and interrelations of thematic test imagery over 20 years., Child Development, 37, 389
  195. 10.1006/jrpe.1999.2243 · DOI
  196. Sroufe, 1979, Socioemotional development., 462
  197. Stacy, 1991, Social psychological influences on sensation seeking from adolescence to adulthood., Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 701, 10.1177/0146167291176014 · DOI
  198. 10.1016/0092-6566(86)90135-2 · DOI
  199. 10.1037/0012-1649.22.3.393 · DOI
  200. 10.1037/0012-1649.21.3.568 · DOI

200 of 231 shown

Cited by

Sorted by citations

See all 3,241

Metadata

Authors
Roberts, B. W., & DelVecchio, W. F.
Affiliations
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
ORCID
Roberts, Brent W.
Venue
Psychological Bulletin
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2000-01
Volume
126
Issue
1
Pages
3-25
ISSN
  • 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1455
DOI
10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.3
OpenAlex
W2060999123
Cited by
3,241
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 68 · 2025: 91 · 2024: 114 · 2023: 132 · 2022: 179 · 2021: 149 · 2020: 198 · 2019: 170 · 2018: 205 · 2017: 162 · 2016: 189 · 2015: 156 · 2014: 182 · 2013: 183 · 2012: 179
FWCI
41.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
Keywords
rank-order stability, test-retest correlation, child personality, temperament, age differences in personality
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aging, Child, Child, Preschool, Humans, Infant, Longitudinal Studies, Middle Aged, Personality, Personality Development, Personality Tests, Temperament, Time Factors, Reproducibility of Results, Statistics, Nonparametric

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

How to cite

Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.

This page
CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.3
The paper
Roberts, B. W., & DelVecchio, W. F. (2000). The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.1.3