Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Stability and change in personality traits from late adolescence to early adulthood: a longitudinal twin study
Daniel M Blonigen1, Marie D Carlson, Brian M Hicks
1Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus, Elliott Hall, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0344, USA. bloni001@umn.edu
Abstract:
We conducted a longitudinal-biometric study examining stability and change in personality from ages 17 to 24 in a community sample of male and female twins. Using Tellegen's (in press) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), facets of Negative Emotionality (NEM) declined substantially at the mean and individual levels, whereas facets of Constraint (CON) increased over time. Furthermore, individuals in late adolescence who were lowest on NEM and highest on CON remained the most stable over time, whereas those exhibiting the inverse profile (higher NEM, lower CON) changed the most in a direction towards growth and maturity. Analyses of gender differences yielded greater mean-level increases over time for women as compared to men on facets of CON and greater mean-level increases for men than women on facets of Agentic Positive Emotionality (PEM). Biometric analyses revealed rank-order stability in personality to be largely genetic, with rank-order change mediated by both the nonshared environment (and error) as well as genes. Findings correspond with prior evidence of a normative trend toward growth and maturity in personality during emerging adulthood.
More Related Videos
13:08Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
06:52Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Personality Theory by Eysenck and Eysenck
In the extroversion/introversion dimension, highly extroverted people are sociable, outgoing, and easily connect with others. In contrast,...
Longitudinal Research
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Introduction to Personality Psychology
Early Theories of Personality
The study of personality dates...
Traits and States
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence