Childhood antecedents of young-adult judgability

Research has recently demonstrated that the personalities of some individuals are more accurately judged than others, and that these "judgable" persons possess a coherent and identifiable personality structure (Colvin, 1993). In this article, four indices of judgability, based on personality descriptions provided by trained examiners, friends, and self, were derived when subjects were 18 and 23 years of age. A reliable composite of the four indices was related to adolescent and childhood personality ratings. The results reveal (a) rank-order stability of judgability from age 18 to age 23, (b) that adolescent ego resiliency predicts judgability in early adulthood, and (c) that adolescent ego resiliency mediates the relationship between childhood personality and young-adult judgability, but only for men. Observed gender differences and similarities are discussed. Overall, the convergence between the results from this study and previous research provides evidence for the construct validity of judgability.