Correlations Between the Five Factor Model of Personality and Problem Behavior

Abstract

The validity of the Five Factor Model of personality traits has been mainly assessed with adults and late adolescents. Research has shown that adolescents are able to give reliable selfreports regarding their personality dispositions, but only a few studies have explored self-ratings in children younger than 12 years. Consistent patterns of relationships between the five factors and behavior have been found, but more research with children is needed. Further, while a substantial number of international studies have been done, more cross-cultural and crossnational studies are needed to verify the universality of the five factors in children. The purpose of this study was to examine whether previously found relations among personality and behavior can be replicated using the Five Factor Personality Inventory-Children (FFPI-C) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Second Edition (BASC-2). A sample of 80 9–14 year old Pakistani children, their parents and teachers completed the instruments. In addition to replicating the previously found relationships, the results showed that the means of all the five dimensions of personality traits on FFPI-C were higher for the Pakistani sample as compared to the American sample. When teacher, parent and child responses were compared to assess interrater agreement of views about the children’s personalities, some significant correlations were found yet the magnitudes of these correlations were small.