| Abstract: |
Consistency and change in personality were analyzed by examining personality
types across adulthood and old age using data from two nationally
representative panel studies from Germany (N = 14,718; 16 - 82 years) and
Australia (N = 8,315; 15 - 79 years). In both samples, the Big Five
personality traits were measured twice across a period of 4 years. Latent
profile analyses and latent profile transition analyses revealed four main
findings: First, solutions with 3 (in the German sample) or 4 (in the
Australian sample) personality types were found to be most interpretable.
Second, measurement invariance tests revealed that these personality types
were consistent across all age groups but differed slightly between men and
women. Third, age was related to the number of individuals classified within
each personality type. Namely, there were more resilients and fewer
undercontrollers in older compared with younger age groups. Fourth, there was
strong consistency of personality type membership across a period of 4 years
in both genders and most age cohorts. Comparatively less consistency across
time was found for undercontrollers and individuals in old age. Taken
together, these findings show that in the two nations studied here,
personality types were highly consistent across gender, age, and time. |