This study classified for resemblance 102 preschool children, who were described by their nursery school teachers using the California Child Q-sort. Inverse (Q) factor analysis identified three personality prototypes initially defined in terms of ego resiliency and ego undercontrol: overcontrolled resilient, resilient under-controlled, and brittle. These personality prototypes showed strong to moderate similarity with typologies obtained in comparable studies and theoretical meaningful relations with experimental measures of ego functioning and IQ. Ten years later, as adolescents, overcontrolled resilients were shy and restrained yet conscientious and intelligent; resilient undercontrollers were extraverted, assertive, and impulsive; and brittles were relatively unintelligent. The discussion focused on the several meanings of person-centered methods, the sample-dependence of personality typologies, and the complementary contributions made by person versus variable-centered analytical strategies in the study of human development.
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