Search

The study explored the psychometric characteristics of the Revised Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ-R-SF). Based on data of 238 early adolescents, we examined the factor structure of the EATQ-R-SF, reliability, and gender differences in mean levels of trait scores. The results showed a satisfactory fit to the models, although the fit indices for some subscales did not reach the recommended values. Internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory. Girls exhibited higher levels of fear, pleasure sensitivity, affiliation and positive emotionality than boys. The reliability of scores was appropriate for use in research, although it would need further improvement.

The study examined an intergenerational model of financial socialization and its outcomes that connects parents’ and their children’s self-perceived financial learning outcomes to satisfaction with financial management and parent-child financial relationships. The conceptual model was based on models of financial socialization processes contributing to healthy financial development of emerging adult students (Shim et al., 2010; Sirsch et al., 2020), but extended the links across two generations within the same family. Considering perspectives of both generations in a single model, it was tested in a sample of 482 pairs of Slovenian first-year university students and one of their parents. Structural equation modeling revealed that parental healthy financial learning outcomes (knowledge, behavioral control, behavior) shaped their children’s positive financial development (financial learning outcomes and satisfaction) and promoted the parents’ satisfaction with financial management. In turn, both the students’ and the parents’ financial management satisfaction positively predicted a joint measure of satisfaction with parent-child financial relationship. Similar links of financial learning outcomes to satisfaction with financial management and parent-child financial relationships were observed for both generations, even though parents and their children were financially socialized under different socioeconomic conditions.

The study tested a model of first-year university students’ financial socialization focusing on parents as financial socialization agents and students’ present financial outcomes. Results from 395 Austrians (70% females) and 412 Slovenes (55% females) revealed significant pathways from recollected socialization experiences to students’ self-perceived financial learning outcomes (adopting parental role modeling and financial knowledge) and financial behavior control. Financial knowledge and behavioral control partly mediated the effect of prior socialization experiences on students’ financial behavior, financial relationship with parents, and financial satisfaction. Among country-specific pathways, adopting parental role modeling indirectly influenced financial outcomes in the Slovene students, whereas for the Austrian students, it was directly associated with better financial relationships with parents. Our findings on the pathways to healthy financial outcomes provide important suggestions to parents and emerging adult students.

The present research examined the association of perceived impact of COVID-19 on emerging adults’ perceptions of their future and the potential mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty on these associations. Specifically, we investigated the associations of perceived financial impact, needed resource impact, and psychological impact on perceptions of future life and financial future. Using online survey data from emerging adults ( N = 1768) living in six countries (China, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and USA), we found that the perceived dimension of impact (i.e., finances, needed resources, and psychological) was negatively associated with perceptions of future life and financial future, despite mean level differences by country. The ability to tolerate uncertainty was a significant mediator only for psychological impact. We conclude the article with suggestions for applying our findings in the design of future interventions.

Individuation Test for Emerging Adults–Short (ITEA-S) is a self-report instrument for measuring five aspects of individuation in emerging adulthood. The test consists of two equivalent forms for assessing individuation in relation to mother and father separately. In this study, we adapted the ITEA-S for use in Austrian and German emerging adult populations. In both samples, the two ITEA-S forms demonstrated satisfactory factorial validity and internal consistency. The scores on the five scales were meaningfully related to the Emotional, Functional, and Conflictual Dependence Scales of the Psychological Separation Inventory and also to life satisfaction as measured by the Satisfaction With Life Scale. The results of the multiple-group factor analyses supported the hypotheses of full metric and scalar invariance for both ITEA-S forms across the Austrian and German samples of emerging adults.

Incremental predictive value of 5 broad and 13 narrow personality traits for academic achievement over and beyond age, gender, parental education, and country was examined in Russian and Slovene 8- to 15-year-olds. Personality data were collected from mothers (Russia: N = 994, Slovenia: N = 624) and adolescents (Russia: N = 481, Slovenia: N = 310) using the Inventory of Child Individual Differences–Short. Final grades in mathematics and Russian/Slovene language were considered as measures of academic success. The broad and the narrow traits predicted the grades, improving the criteria variance by 11% to 14% and 15% to 19%, respectively, over the background variables. Across the countries, informants and school subjects, younger age, higher parental education, female gender, openness (especially subjectively perceived intelligence), and low extraversion predicted academic achievements. Mother-assessed conscientiousness (especially low distractibility) was also predictive of school grades.

The study investigated associations of Slovene emerging adults' age, gender, living situation, romantic relationship, and employment status with aspects of individuation in relation to mother and father. Controlling for demographic variables and transitional markers of adulthood, we further explored the contribution of individuation measures to individuals' perceptions of achieved criteria for adulthood and life satisfaction. The participants provided self-reports on the Individuation Test for Emerging Adults, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the list of Achieved Criteria for Adulthood. Age and living out of parental home were positively associated with self-reliance in relation to both parents, whereas female gender was related to higher levels of connectedness and seeking parental support. Along with age and involvement in a romantic relationship, connectedness and self-reliance predicted adulthood criteria attainment and life satisfaction. The results support the models of individuation that emphasize growing autonomy and retaining connectedness to parents as pathways towards personal adjustments.

The study investigated the predictive value of robust and specific personality traits in adolescents (M age = 14.7 years), in explaining their academic achievement at the end of basic compulsory schooling. Personality data were obtained through self, maternal, and peer reports using the Inventory of Child/Adolescent Individual Differences. Adolescent gender and maternal education predicted 36, 26, 19, and 26 % of the variance in the final grades in Slovene, English, and mathematics and the overall GPA, respectively. Personality ratings by each of the three groups of informants substantially improved the prediction of students’ academic achievements, over and beyond gender and maternal education. The robust trait scores contributed to significant increments in the variance explained, across the academic achievement indicators, ranging from 8 to 17 % (self-report), 15 to 24 % (maternal report), and 20 to 32 % (peer report). Conscientiousness was consistently the most powerful predictor of students’ academic success and extraversion was negatively associated with all achievement indicators. The study provided support for a relatively stronger predictive utility of specific, rather than robust personality traits. Likewise, peer ratings of the students’ personality provided relatively larger increments in variance explained in academic achievements than maternal and self-ratings; in general, the personality trait ratings added more to the prediction of mathematics grades and the GPA relative to the prediction of success in languages. Among specific traits, subjectively perceived student intelligence was the most powerful and consistent predictor of final grades and GPA.

The study examined individual factors and social factors that influence adolescent students’ achievement in mathematics. The predictive model suggested direct positive effects of student intelligence, self-rated openness and parental education on achievement in mathematics, whereas direct effects of extraversion on measures of achievement were negative. Indirect positive effects of intelligence, self-rated conscientiousness, student-perceived mathematics teacher’s press for understanding and mastery goal, and a negative effect of student-rated parental academic pressure on course achievement were mediated through the students’ self-efficacy in mathematics. The findings highlight the important role that individual differences in ability and personality, as well as student perceptions of parent and teacher academically related variables, play in the students’ performance in mathematics.

This study explored children, preschool, and family characteristics that contribute to individual differences in the developmental trajectories of social competence and internalizing and externalizing behavior. Teachers reported on personality and social adjustment of 304 children at ages 3, 4, 5, and 6 years. Predictors of social adjustment included: (1) children’s gender and the ratings of extraversion, conscientiousness, disagreeableness, and neuroticism; (2) maternal and paternal education, and parent-reported parenting practices at the beginning of the study; and (3) the child’s age of entry to preschool. Child social adjustment was most strongly predicted by teacher-rated child personality. The change in a child’s rank-order position on social competence was related to the change in the rank-order position on extraversion; the change in internalizing behavior was related particularly to a change in neuroticism, and the change in externalizing behavior especially to a change in disagreeableness. Specific family variables and the child’s age at the time of entry into preschool played a minor but statistically significant role.

This study examined the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the French version of the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adoles cents (QIDA) in a sample of 957 adolescents (48.5% boys) ranging in age from 11 to 18 years (M = 14.48, SD = 1.85). A principal axis factoring (PAF) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed to determine the fit of the factor structure of scores on the QIDA. PAF and CFA replicated the previously identified correlated five-factor structure of the QIDA: Assertiveness, Heterosexual Relationships, Public Speaking, Family Relationships, and Close Friendships. The QIDA yielded acceptable reliability scores for French adolescents. Validity evidence of QIDA was also established through correlations with scores on the School Anxiety Inventory and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents. Most of the correlations were positive and exceeded the established criteria of statistical significance, but the magnitude of these varied according to the scales of the QIDA. Results supported the reliability and validity evidence drawn from the scores of the French version of the QIDA.

The role of child’s characteristics (gender, cognitive ability, mother‐perceived personality traits), family environment (maternal education, self‐reported parenting practices) and pre‐school experience (at least three years vs. no experience) in social adjustment to school, reflected through teacher reports on social competence and internalising and externalising behaviours, was investigated with six‐year‐olds (N = 366). Three blocks of factors, i.e. child, family and pre‐school, explained up to 19% of variance in social adjustment with child’s characteristics accounting for the major part. Family variables contributed significant, though small, portions of variance to social competence and internalising behaviour over and above the child factors. Pre‐school experience was additionally predictive of lower incidence of internalising behaviour and more frequent externalising behaviour.

Contributions of parental involvement in educational pursuits as well as math teachers' classroom behavior to students' motivation and performance in math were investigated. By the end of the first school term, 365 Slovene eighth graders reported on their parents' academic involvement (pressure, support, and help) and their math teachers' behavior in the classroom (support, academic press, and mastery goal). During the second term, the students filled-in the questionnaires on their motivational beliefs about math, and at the end of the school year, their final math grade was obtained from school records. Both of the social contexts significantly predicted students' outcomes. Students' perceptions of math teachers' behavior were predictive of both motivational beliefs and achievement in math, over and above the acount of students' evaluations of their parents' involvement. Furthermore, parental academic pressure and support were directly (negatively) related to students' math grades. The contributions of parental pressure, math teachers' academic press, and teachers' mastery goal on math achievement were mediated through the students' self-efficacy in this school course.

SUMMARY Three blocks of factors were considered as predictors of four year old children's (N = 286) personality, non-verbal intelligence and social behaviour in preschool: (a) personality characteristics at time 1 (T1) when the participants were three years old; (b) parental education and parenting practices measured at T1; and (c) age of child's entry to high-quality preschool. Child personality was rated separately by mothers, fathers and preschool teachers employing The Inventory of Child Individual Differences (Halverson et al., 2003) at T1 and one year later, at time 2 (T2). At both times, the teachers also assessed the children's social behaviour, completing The Social Competence and Behaviour Evaluation Scale (LaFreniere et al., 2001). Both of the parents independently filled in The Family Environment Questionnaire (Zupancic et al., 2004) at T1 and The Coloured Progressive Matrices (Raven et al., 2001) were individually administered to each child at T2 to obtain his/her non-verbal intelligence scor...

SUMMARY This study explores the relationship between cognitive, motor, social and personality development of 3-year-old children and the age of their entry into preschool, which ranged from 10 to 45 months. 247 children from 17 preschools in different regions of Slovenia, all implementing the same National Curriculum, participated. Preschool teachers assessed the social behaviour of the participating children on the Social Competence and Behaviour Evaluation Scale. Individual child personality differences were rated independently by their mothers and fathers, and by their preschool teachers using a recently developed culturally- and age-decentred Inventory of Children's Individual Differences. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II were individually administered to each child, providing an evaluation of the child's mental and motor developmental status and the child's behaviour during the application of the Mental and Motor Scales. Groups of children who entered preschool at different ages (10 to 15 m...

The role of personality traits in 674 emerging adult students' (aged 18 to 28; 80% female) individuation in relation to parents was investigated cross-sectionally. Self-reports were obtained by the Big Five Inventory and the Individuation Test for Emerging Adults. Personality was predictive of measures of individuation, over and above the students' background characteristics, suggesting that personality can be viewed as an inner resource shaping experiences of individuation. Agreeableness contributed to support seeking, and connectedness with both parents, and Extraversion predicted connectedness with mothers. Conscientiousness was related negatively to both perceptions of parental intrusiveness and fear of disappointing the mother, whereas Neuroticism was predictive of perceptions of maternal intrusiveness, and fear of disappointing the parents. Openness was associated with self-reliance in relationships with both parents, and demonstrated negative links with support seeking and connectedness with mothers. Few moderating effects of age and gender on Extraversion–individuation associations were revealed.

Objective This exploratory study examined the role that illness representations and personality play in the various adherence behaviors of adolescents diagnosed with essential hypertension. Methods The participants were 97 hypertensive adolescents. They completed self-report questionnaires pertaining to (1) demographic and medical data, (2) adherence, (3) illness representations, and (4) personality. Medical charts were also assessed. Results The hierarchical regression analyses indicated that: (1) conscientiousness, agreeableness, and perception of treatment effectiveness account for a significant amount of variance in general adherence; (2) perception of treatment effectiveness is predictive of overall specific adherence; and (3) for adherence to most of the individual specific regimen recommendations, illness representations are more predictive compared to personality dimensions. Conclusions The personality domains of conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and illness representation dimensions (treatment control, concern, and emotional burden) were shown to predict adherence behaviors in adolescent hypertensive patients differentially. Study implications and limitations are discussed.