While bivariate associations between motivation and academic achievement have been soundly established, only a few studies have documented evidence for its incremental predictive role above and beyond other student features related to student achievement, such as intelligence and personality. Moreover, it is not yet clear which motivational…

Personality traits are hypothesized to be among the most important factors contributing to individual differences in identity development. However, longitudinal studies linking Big Five personality traits to contemporary identity models (in which multiple exploration and commitment processes are distinguished) are largely lacking. To gain more…

Changes in personality traits in late adolescence and young adulthood are believed to co-occur with changes in identity, but little research is available that supports this hypothesis. The present study addressed this relatively understudied area of research by examining longitudinal associations of Big Five personality traits (i.e., Neuroticism,…

This prospective longitudinal study addressed 3 key questions regarding the processes of parenting in a large community sample of mothers (n = 589) and fathers (n = 518). First, the collective impact of parental Big Five personality dimensions on overreactive and warm parenting, assessed 6 years later by adolescents, was examined. Second,…

The present study investigated the influence of contextual (i.e., being in college vs. being employed) and psychological (i.e., sense of coherence) processes on achieving a sense of adulthood in a sample of 317 emerging adults. Identity formation, conceptualized as multiple dimensions of exploration and of commitment, was conceived of as a…