Advances in Child Personality Research and Relevance for Personality Pathology

Abstract

This chapter reviews the current state of research on defining and organizing normal-range personality traits in youth, the work defining and organizing maladaptive personality traits in youth, and evidence for the hierarchical organization of both normal-range and maladaptive early personality traits. Direct comparisons of work on younger populations to existing research on adults are made throughout the chapter, in order to facilitate an integrative life-span perspective of personality and personality pathology. These comparisons highlight areas in which there are important differences from work with adults that may be missed if the field neglects such a comprehensive, life-span view. Finally, implications of the work on child personality are drawn and important future directions for the field are highlighted.