Longitudinal Hierarchical Linear Modeling Analyses of California Psychological Inventory Data From Age 33 to 75: An Examination of Stability and Change in Adult Personality

• Published in: Journal of personality assessment Vol. 80; no. 3; pp. 294 - 308
• Main Authors: Jones, Constance J., Livson, Norman, Peskin, Harvey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01.06.2003; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aging - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hierarchical models; Human Development; Humans; Linear Models; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Personality; Personality Development; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Personality. Affectivity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychometrics; Social Behavior; Stability; United States; United States; Human; California Psychological Inventory Gough; Personality test; Personality change; Stability; Evaluation scale; Follow up study; Adult; Psychometrics; Elderly; Inventory; Linear model
• ISSN: 0022-3891; 1532-7752
• DOI: 10.1207/S15327752JPA8003_07

Twenty aspects of personality assessed via the California Psychological Inventory (CPI; Gough & Bradley, 1996) from age 33 to 75 were examined in a sample of 279 individuals. Oakland Growth Study and Berkeley Guidance Study members completed the CPI a maximum of 4 times. We used longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to ask the following: Which personality characteristics change and which do not? Five CPI scales showed uniform lack of change, 2 showed heterogeneous change giving an averaged lack of change, 4 showed linear increases with age, 2 showed linear decreases with age, 4 showed gender or sample differences in linear change, 1 showed a quadratic peak, and 2 showed a quadratic nadir. The utility of HLM becomes apparent in portraying the complexity of personality change and stability.