Robust and specific personality traits as predictors of adolescents' final grades and GPA at the end of compulsory schooling

Helena Smrtnik Vitulić (Author), Maja Zupančič (Author)

Abstract

The study investigated the predictive value of robust and specific personality traits in adolescents (M age = 14.7 years), in explaining their academic achievement at the end of basic compulsory schooling. Personality data were obtained through self, maternal, and peer reports using the Inventory of Child/Adolescent Individual Differences. Adolescent gender and maternal education predicted 36, 26, 19, and 26 % of the variance in the final grades in Slovene, English, and mathematics and the overall GPA, respectively. Personality ratings by each of the three groups of informants substantially improved the prediction of students ʼ academic achievements, over and beyond gender and maternal education. The robust trait scores contributed to significant increments in the variance explained, across the academic achievement indicators, ranging from 8 to 17 % (self-report), 15 to 24 % (maternal report), and 20 to 32 % (peer report). Conscientiousness was consistently the most powerful predictor of students ʼ academic success and extraversion was negatively associated with all achievement indicators. The study provided support for a relatively stronger predictive utility of specific, rather than robust personality traits. Likewise, peer ratings of the students ʼ personality provided relatively larger increments in variance explained in academic achieve- ments than maternal and self-ratings; in general, the personality trait ratings added more to the prediction of mathematics grades and the GPA relative to the prediction of success in languages. Among specific traits, subjectively perceived student intelligence was the most powerful and consistent predictor of final grades and GPA.

Keywords

osebnost;osebnostne lastnosti;učna uspešnost;mladostništvo;osnovne šole;personality;personality traits;academic achievement;adolescence;elementary schools;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2013
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UL FF - Faculty of Arts
UDC:	159.922.8:37.015.3
COBISS:	9451081
ISSN:	0256-2928
Views:	2194
Downloads:	319
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	English
Secondary keywords:	adolescent;individual characteristics;achievement;mladostnik;individualna karakteristika;uspešnost;
Type (COBISS):	Not categorized
Pages:	str. 1181-1199
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ28
Issue:	ǂno. ǂ4
Chronology:	2013
DOI:	10.1007/s10212-012-0161-2
ID:	1485049