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Personality types and the risk of clinical-level adaptation problems of Korean preadolescents: A population-based study

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Abstract

While psychopathology emerges during late childhood and becomes more evident during adolescence, limited research has examined the associations between personality types and the risk of clinical-level adaptation problems in preadolescents. This study identified personality types based on the five-factor model and evaluated the risk of clinical-level behavioral problems according to personality type. Participants consisted of 1,332 preadolescents (mean age = 11.356 years) from the Panel Study on Korean Children. Latent profile analyses were conducted to identify the personality types of preadolescents. The links between the personality types and the risk of clinical-level behavior problems were tested with multinominal logistic regressions. The participants were classified into four personality types: ordinary (42.3%), resilient (17.0%), undercontrollers (32.3%), and overcontrollers (8.5%). The overcontrollers had a greater risk of clinical-level total behavior problems when compared to the ordinary type. The undercontrollers demonstrated a greater risk of clinical-level external behavior problems as compared to the ordinary type. These findings highlight the potential usefulness of personality typology as a practical transdiagnostic tool for identifying preadolescents who may be at risk of experiencing clinical-level adaptation problems associated with specific personality types.

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Data Availability

This study utilized publicly released data, which is freely available for download at the following link: [https://panel.kicce.re.kr/pskc/module/rawDataManage/index.do?menu_idx=56].

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  1. Department of Child and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea

    Yeon Ha Kim

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  1. Yeon Ha Kim
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Kim, Y.H. Personality types and the risk of clinical-level adaptation problems of Korean preadolescents: A population-based study. Curr Psychol 43, 10894–10903 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05226-4

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