The reactivity-regulation model suggests that the origins and maintenance of shyness results from relatively high levels of reactivity in combination with relatively low levels of regulation. Although this model has received some empirical support, there are still issues regarding directionality of the relations among variables and a dearth of…

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of social capital assessed in early adulthood in linking self-control in childhood with psychological and social functioning in middle age. Data collected at ages 8, 27, and 42 years were based on the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (159 females, 177 males).…

How leadership is done in higher education is analysed through a longitudinal interview study among the heads of department at a Swedish university. The focus is directed towards the construction and reconstruction of leader identity from the time when the heads were novices up until four years later when they were more experienced. The main…

Examines whether relationships can be demonstrated between specific infantile comfort habits and later personality development. Results suggest that children with a persistent oral habit at age 4 may later (at age 11 and 16) be less emotionally "well-adjusted" and more difficult for their parents to influence and control. (MP)

Summarizes the major forms of cross-cultural research on personality development and discusses their contribution to developmental research. Also discusses some major issues in research on acculturation. (Author/SS)

The authors examined the prediction of occupational attainment by age 40 from contextual and personal variables assessed during childhood and adolescence in 2 participant samples: (a) the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, a study of 856 third graders in a semirural county in New York State that began in 1960, and (b) the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal…

This study was designed to investigate aspects of childhood social functioning in early interaction and socialization patterns of normal families. Sixteen families with a child between 1 and 3 years of age, and a second child born when the study began, were observed over a 2-year period. Intelligence tests were administered to both children when…

In order to determine West German rural youths' involvement in and availability to the mechanism of social change, surveys of youth aged 17-28 in towns of less than 5,000 people were made in 1955, 1968, and 1980. Between 1955 and 1980 the social structure of rural youth changed dramatically, especially in employment. In 1955, 55% of rural youth…

Reviews the research methods, design, and main findings of the Austin-Mexico City cross-cultural study of personality and intellectual development using an overlapping longitudinal design. A span of 12 years of development was extrapolated from six years of repeated testing with children ages 6, 9, and 12 years. (SS)

This longitudinal study examined consistency and change in human personality. Rather than studying the consistency of individual differences over time, an approach which considers only the stability of a variable at the group level and ignores differences in stability at an individual level, this study used a person-centered approach to study…

A prospective study investigated associations between preschool temperament and environmental factors and school-age personality in 93 Swedish children. Found that personality was predicted by early temperament and environmental factors such as external day care and negative life events. Extraversion was most clearly related to temperament.…

The longitudinal "Competent Children" project is intended to discover what impact children's family resources and early childhood education experiences have on the development of children's cognitive, social, communicative, and problem-solving competencies. This report details findings of the first stage of the project. The report…

The longitudinal "Competent Children" project is intended to discover what impact family resources and early childhood education experiences have on the development of children's cognitive, social, communicative, and problem-solving competencies. This booklet summarizes the main findings of the first stage of this project. The report…