Conscientiousness and externalizing psychopathology: overlap, developmental patterns, and etiology of two related constructs.

Full Abstract

The present paper focuses on the trait domain of conscientiousness, its development, and its relation to psychopathology. The definition of conscientiousness and its interface with specific forms of psychopathology, such as externalizing psychopathology, are discussed first. Then an overview of the known developmental changes in conscientiousness across the life course is provided, as well as the potential shared developmental etiology of conscientiousness and externalizing psychopathology. Given the lack of data, testing etiological factors that may contribute to the development of both conscientiousness and externalizing disorders, we report on three studies examining the childhood experiences associated with both conscientiousness and externalizing behaviors. Last, future directions are discussed.

Author information

Author/s: Roberts, Brent W (BW); Jackson, Joshua J (JJ); Burger, Jessica (J); Trautwein, Ulrich (U);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61820, USA. broberts(-atsign-)cyrus.psych.uiuc.edu

Grants: AG21178 (Agency:NIA NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Review

Journal: Development and psychopathology (Dev Psychopathol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-; vol 21 (issue 3) : pp 871-88

Dates: Created 2009/07/08; Completed 2009/10/23;

PMID: 19583888, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/23/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.