Longitudinal examination of the impact of Eysenck’s psychoticism dimension on emotional well-being in teenagers

Using a two-wave longitudinal design with a 12-month interval, we assessed the impact of Eysenckian psychoticism on the emotional well-being of teenagers (N = 660). The mean age of the participants was 12 years at Time 1. At both times, participants completed the Eysenck psychoticism measure as well as a number of measures of positive and negative affect derived from the PANAS-X, namely, hostility, fear, sadness, and joy [Watson, D. & Clark, L. A. (1994). The PANAS-X: manual for the positive and negative affect schedule – expanded form. Department of Psychology, University of Iowa]. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated structural differences in psychoticism between boys and girls. Further SEM analyses revealed that amongst girls, P was associated with increases in hostility, sadness, and fear, whereas amongst boys it was associated with decreases in joy. These results are discussed with reference to the nature of Eysenckian psychoticism, its links to emotional states, and their implications for behaviour in young people.