Character strengths are an integral component of positive youth development that can promote flourishing. Developmental principles posit constructs become increasingly complex with age, yet this process has not been examined with character. Using a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 2,467 youth ages 9-19, bifactor models were…

The current study used a novel methodology based on multivocal ethnography to assess the relations between conformity and evaluations of intelligence and good behavior among Western (U.S.) and non-Western (Ni-Vanuatu) children (6- to 11-year-olds) and adolescents (13- to 17-year-olds; N = 256). Previous research has shown that U.S. adults were…

This meta-analysis, spanning 5 decades of Draw-A-Scientist studies, examined U.S. children's gender-science stereotypes linking science with men. These stereotypes should have weakened over time because women's representation in science has risen substantially in the United States, and mass media increasingly depict female scientists. Based on 78…

This study examined teacher-child conflict as a possible mediator of the effects of temperamental anger and effortful control on subsequent externalizing behavior. Reciprocal influences between teacher-child conflict and externalizing behavior were also examined. Participants were 1,152 children (49% female; 81.6% non-Hispanic White) from the…

This study examined the contribution of nonparental child-care services received during the preschool years to the development of social behavior between kindergarten and the end of elementary school with a birth cohort from Québec, Canada (N = 1,544). Mothers reported on the use of child-care services, while elementary school teachers rated…

In one of the first open diffusion experiments with young children, a tool-use task that afforded multiple methods to extract an enclosed reward and a child model habitually using one of these methods were introduced into different playgroups. Eighty-eight children, ranging in age from 2 years 8 months to 4 years 5 months, participated. Measures…

To better understand quantity and quality of divorced father contact, a weighted county sample of 230 divorced fathers with a child aged 4-11 years was employed to test whether fathers' antisocial personality (ASP) moderated effects of monthly contact with children in predicting children's observed noncompliance. Eighteen-month latent growth…

This study charted the development of gendered personality qualities and activity interests from age 7 to age 19 in 364 first- and second-born siblings from 185 White, middle/working-class families, assessed links between time in gendered social contexts (with mother, father, female peers, and male peers) and gender development, and tested whether…

Fourth through eleventh grade students evaluated single personality trait descriptions of hypothetical persons of their own sex. Results are discussed in terms of person-perception and social desirability theories of personality. (ST)

Examined associations between the activity level and adaptability of same-sex siblings and qualitative aspects of their relationship. Found high levels of conflict when both siblings were high in activity and the older sibling was rated more active than the younger. Conflict was lowest when siblings were low in activity. Warmth was greatest when…

Investigated the relation between kindergartners', second graders', and fourth graders' attributions of intentionality and inferences of disposition for story characters depicted as having intentionally or accidentally caused harm. (JMB)

Multimethod assessments of temperament were obtained from 89 twins at 18 and 24 months of age. Ratings of subject reaction to restraint and parent ratings of temperament plus coordination of these temperament dimensions with analogous dimensions obtained at 12 months provided evidence of stability of temperament across six-month intervals during…

Examined the reactions of 201 elementary school children to direct and indirect help and the moderating effects of grade, understanding of personality, and sex on children's reaction to aid. Results indicated that children high in the understanding of consistency of personality were more autonomous in the indirect than the direct help condition.…

In the studies, subjects from different age groups (5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 18-22 years) observed vignettes designed to reveal an actor's abilities or personality traits, and were told about one instance of an actor's behavior, respectively. The subjects were then asked to predict the actor's behavior in related situations. Results focused differences in…