Are behaviour problems in preschool children related to Big-five markers

Abstract

This study investigated whether the "Big-5" structure (a five-factor model used to capture variance in adult personality) can be obtained from parental ratings of 4-year-old children, using traditional markers of this structure that are derived primarily from research on adult personality. The study also examined whether Big-5 markers can be used to meaningfully predict children's behaviour problems. Participants were 359 preschool children from 10 public preschools in Bermuda and their parents. Parents completed the Early Childhood Behaviour Inventory (ECBI), a measure of the extent to which their children manifested behaviour problems. The ECBI used a structure composed of five factors--Conduct and Noncompliance, Tense and Withdrawn, Attention and Neurological, Fearful and Sensitive, and Eating and Elimination. After completing the ECBI, parents responded to 10 Big-5 bipolar marker scales. Analysis indicated that Big-5 marker scales performed predictably according to Big-5 theory. Big-5 language was useful in predicting behaviour problems in preschool children, particularly for Conduct, Withdrawal, and Attention and Neurological problems. This research supports the idea that measures of normal personality variation designed to assess most of the Big-5 would be helpful in elucidating developmental psychopathology