Personality and Family Factors in Children's Well Being

The present study aimed to explore the interactions between personality and family factors in the prediction of children’s well-being. Method: A large sample of 1780 children aged 3 to 18 years (46% female) of various socioeconomic backgrounds from the urban and rural (21%) regions was assessed using parent reports. Well-being was measured by the Strengths and Diffi¬culties Questionnaire, personality was measured by the Inventory of Child Individual Differences, family factors were measured by the Life Style Questionnaire. Results: Analysis showed that in difficult circumstances (family discord, violence, corporal punishment) the contribution of personality to child prosocial behavior, emotional and behavioural problems and their impact on everyday life) was larger than in more favourable environments. Conclusions: Vulnerable personalities may be disproportionately affected in adverse environments, while protective factors in the family can buffer children from the impact of risk-inducing personality traits. Personality traits, such as agreeableness, compliance, low antagonism and low negative emotionality, provide protection in the presence of adverse family factors.

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