Stability and change in adolescents' personality: A longitudinal study

The present study examined three types of personality change and continuity (mean-level, individual-level, and rank-order stability) over the 2-year period in a nationally representative longitudinal sample of Estonian adolescents (N = 876) aged 12-18. According to the Reliable Change Index, 82.1% of adolescents maintained the same level on any given personality trait measured by the NEO Five-Factorial Inventory (NEO-FFI) indicating that the individual-level continuity of adolescents did not differ compared to young adults. A reliable increase was found in Openness. Across the five dimensions, the average test-retest correlations were 0.51, 0.56 and 0.67, and the computed biennial stability values were 0.80, 0.83 and 0.89 for age groups 12 -> 14,14 -> 16 and 16 -> 18 years, respectively. Neither intelligence nor school performance moderated the differential continuity. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.