Genetic and environmental etiology of stability and changes in self-esteem linked to personality: A Japanese twin study

Personality traits and perception of parenting: The comparative twin study from Germany and Serbia

This study examines the aetiology of the relationship between personality traits and perceived parenting in light of cross-cultural differences. The sample consisted of 188 Serbian and 394 German twin pairs. Personality traits were measured using the NEO-personality inventory. A Blocks Environmental Questionnaire (BEQ) was applied to measure two dimensions of perceived parenting: support and organisation. Genetic factors account for 63-79% of the variance for BEQ dimensions in both samples, while around 50-60% of the variance in Big Five personality scores could be attributed to genetic factors. The exception was Neuroticism in the Serbian sample, where the genetic effect was somewhat smaller. The results indicated similar etiological pathways of the relationship between personality traits and perceived parenting, with some cultural differences related to Neuroticism and Extraversion. Negative Neuroticism-Support and positive Extraversion-Organisation environmental relationships were stronger in the Serbian sample. Genetic overlaps were more significant in the German sample, except for the relationship of Organisation with Conscientiousness and Extraversion. This indicates that the relationship between personality and perceived parenting is largely genetically mediated, but that the environmental effect may play an important role in individual adaptation to the family setting.

On the link of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and Neuroticism

OBJECTIVE

Self-esteem (SE) and life satisfaction (LS) are highly correlated but little is known about the sources of this association. Both characteristic adaptations are negatively correlated with Neuroticism (N). We investigated the relationship between SE, LS, and N and the degree to which shared variance was explained by N from a behavior genetic perspective.

METHOD

We analyzed more than 2,000 German same-sex twin pairs and their siblings. Twins were 17 and  23 years old and siblings were M = 21.6 years old. The sample was balanced regarding gender. We applied multivariate twin-sibling Cholesky models to obtain genetic and environmental correlations and estimated the impact N had on genetic and environmental correlations of SE and LS.

RESULTS

The genetic correlation between SE and LS was .99 and 47% of this phenotypic correlation was explained by genetics. About 28% of the common genetic variance between SE and LS was explained by shared genes with N.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that N is not a common factor of SE and LS. The results are not in line with theories assuming that N is a basic tendency whose genetic factors account for most of the genetic variance between the assumed characteristic adaptations SE and LS.

A Comparison of the Predictive Validity of Self-Esteem Level and Directly Measured Self-Esteem Stability in the Temporal Prediction of Psychological Distress

In contrast to the widely used assessment approach in which self-esteem stability is measured as the standard deviation of repeated measurements, direct measurements of self-esteem stability have hardly ever been implemented in longitudinal studies. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the temporal stability and predictive validity of a direct assessment of self-esteem stability compared with the trait level of self-esteem with respect to the prediction of psychological distress (PD). We examined a sample of 136 employees who completed self-report measures of both self-esteem level [Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)] and self-esteem stability [Self-Esteem Stability Scale (SESS)] along with a measure of PD (SCL-90) at two time points across an interval of 1 year. The results underline the relevance of perceived self-esteem stability in the temporal prediction of PD: After controlling for initial PD, we found that self-esteem stability predicted PD better than self-esteem level did. Therefore, we recommend that the RSES be expanded by adding the three SESS items that directly measure the stability of self-esteem.

Psychosocial Twin Cohort Studies in Japan: The Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC)

The Keio Twin Research Center (KoTReC) was established in 2009 at Keio University to combine two longitudinal cohort projects - the Keio Twin Study (KTS) for adolescence and adulthood and the Tokyo Twin Cohort Project (ToTCoP) for infancy and childhood. KoTReC also conducted a two-time panel study of self-control and psychopathology in twin adolescence in 2012 and 2013 and three independent anonymous cross-sectional twin surveys (ToTcross) before 2012 - the ToTCross, the Junior and Senior High School Survey and the High School Survey. This article introduces the recent research designs of KoTReC and its publications.

Developmental stability of scholastic, social, athletic, and physical appearance self-concepts from preschool to early adulthood

BACKGROUND

Self-concept has meaningful relations with psychological functioning and well-being across the life span. Hence, it is important to understand how and when individual differences in multiple domains of self-concept begin to stabilize and whether individual differences remain stable throughout childhood and adolescence and into early adulthood.

METHODS

We assessed individuals' (N = 372) scholastic, social, athletic, and physical appearance self-concepts at five waves over 20 years from age 4 to age 24.

RESULTS

In general, stability was large, but medium-sized estimates were obtained for some domains over longer (e.g., 6-year) intervals. Indirect effects from preschool to early adulthood were small, but from age 14 to 24 were medium to large. Stabilities maintained significance independent of family socioeconomic status and global self-worth. Stability estimates were similar for boys and girls except over adolescence for scholastic self-concept, which was more stable for girls than boys.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple domains of self-concept constitute stable individual-difference characteristics, independent of global feelings of self-worth. Individuals who have high or low self-concepts early in development tend to maintain their relative standing into early adulthood suggesting points of intervention.