Psychosocial functioning in young men predicts their personality stability over 15 years

A sample of male military conscripts in the Finnish Defence Forces (N = 74) completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire [Cattell, R. B., Eber, H., & Tatsuoka, M. (1970). Handbook for the sixteen personality factor questionnaire. Champaign, Illinois: Institute for Personality and Ability Testing, Inc.] at age 20 and again as civilians at age 35. Although we found evidence of the continuity of personality over the 15-year span, changes were also observed in the direction of greater maturity. More important, we found considerable, predictable, individual differences in ipsative personality stability coefficients in our sample. Personality stability was predicted by indicators of psychosocial functioning at age 20, including psychiatrist ratings, military records, and self-reports, but not by cognitive ability or social desirability response tendencies. The data support our contention that the more psychologically adjusted is the individual at a young age, the higher is the long-term stability of his behavior dispositions.