ERIC Number: EJ717848
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Apr
Pages: 18
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-930X
EISSN: N/A
The Association of Childhood Personality Type with Volunteering during Adolescence
Atkins, Robert; Hart, Daniel; Donnelly, Thomas M.
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental Psychology, v51 n2 p145-162 Apr 2005
Using a longitudinal design, we investigated the relation of childhood personality type to volunteering during adolescence. We hypothesized that participants with more adaptive personality functioning during childhood would be more likely to volunteer during adolescence and that membership in social organizations would mediate the relation of personality to volunteering during adolescence. Participants from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) with complete data measures for the four time periods of study were categorized into one of three personality types during early childhood. Children assigned to the "resilient" personality type were more likely than children characterized by the "overcontrolled" and "undercontrolled" personality types to volunteer 8 and 10 years later in adolescence. Analyses demonstrated that the association of childhood personality to adolescent volunteering is not mediated by late-childhood membership in social institutions that may facilitate entry into volunteering. The findings are interpreted in terms of their implications for understanding personality and prosocial behavior.
Descriptors: Volunteers, Social Influences, Coping, Children, Prosocial Behavior, Personality Traits, Adolescents, Individual Characteristics, Predictor Variables, Interpersonal Competence
Wayne State University Press, The Leonard N. Simons Building, 4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309. Tel: 800-978-7323 (Toll Free); Fax: 313-577-6131.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A