Relations among behavioral inhibition, Big Five personality factors, and anxiety disorder symptoms in non-clinical children

This study examined relationships between behavioral inhibition, Big Five personality factors, and anxiety disorder symptoms in non-clinical children aged 9–12 years (N = 226), using children’s self-report and parent-report data. Results indicated that behavioral inhibition is best characterized by low extraversion with a tinge of neuroticism. Further, behavioral inhibition was clearly associated with anxiety symptoms, even when controlling for the influence of Big Five personality factors (including neuroticism). These results indicate that although behavioral inhibition partly overlaps with basic personality factors, this temperament characteristic remains an important predictive variable of anxiety pathology in youths.