Personality and Developmental Changes Across the Life Span: Predictors, Assessment, and Impact

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
Interests: individual differences; intelligence; personality; social emotional and behavioral skills; soft skills; adolescent skill development; academic achievement; life satisfaction; extracurricular activities

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A considerable amount of research suggests that personality changes across the human lifespan and that people of all ages desire to change their personality. However, the mechanisms behind personality change and the motivations driving people’s desire to change during different life stages remain topics of debate.

We thus invite you to submit your work for publication to this Special Issue to advance our knowledge about the following:

  • The mechanisms and predictors of personality change, including, but not limited to, life events, interventions, participation in structured activities, beliefs (e.g., mindset), motivation (e.g., change goals, volitional change, and impact), and individual characteristics (e.g., age, sex, gender, culture, and baseline personality traits).
  • What people want to change and why: Although there is consistent research showing that people desire to change most of their personality traits, studies are often limited to the student population and rarely adopt frameworks other than the Big Five. This leaves ample space to integrate additional traits or skills into these findings and to explore the reasons why a person desires to change a specific trait or skill in interaction with individual characteristics (e.g., occupation, age, and gender).
  • Methodological challenges: Finally, we recognize the methodological challenges related to the study of personality change. These include measurement issues, data collection, and data analysis and are not limited to quantitative analyses but may also include text and content analysis, as well as qualitative designs, aimed at unveiling the reasons behind the goals and mechanisms driving change.

Dr. Tommaso Feraco
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • personality
  • skills
  • development
  • change
  • volitional change
  • interventions
  • life events
  • longitudinal assessment
  • psychometrics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 459 KiB  
Article
Unlocking Success in Counseling: How Personality Traits Moderates Its Effectiveness
by Alexandro Fortunato, Silvia Andreassi, Costanza Franchini, Gaetano Maria Sciabica, Mara Morelli, Antonio Chirumbolo and Anna Maria Speranza
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2024, 14(10), 2642-2656; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe14100174 - 24 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1085
Abstract
Psychological distress is widespread among university students, with depression being notably more prevalent compared to the general population. University counseling services are crucial for addressing these mental health challenges, and numerous studies have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing psychological distress and improving overall [...] Read more.
Psychological distress is widespread among university students, with depression being notably more prevalent compared to the general population. University counseling services are crucial for addressing these mental health challenges, and numerous studies have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing psychological distress and improving overall well-being. However, there is limited research on what factors predict the success of university counseling. This study aims to evaluate whether counseling improves well-being, specifically by reducing depressive symptoms, and to explore whether personality traits influence counseling outcomes. Participants included 125 Italian university students (64.8% female, mean age = 22.69; SD = 3.04) who utilized counseling services. They completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-TR (PID-5-TR) at three points: immediately after the intake interview (T0), just before the intervention (T1), and after the fourth session (T2). Linear mixed models were used to analyze changes in depression levels, revealing a significant reduction in depressive symptoms from pre- to post-intervention. Among personality traits, only antagonism showed a significant interaction with time. Additionally, higher detachment scores were associated with higher depression levels. These findings emphasize the need for focused attention on students’ emotional issues and suggest that personality traits may influence the effectiveness of counseling. Full article
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