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

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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
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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.

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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

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