Vieni, Alexa
Personality Traits in Parents and Children:
An Analysis of Similarities and Differences in Personality
Traits Between Parents and Their Children
Alexa Vieni
Plainedge High School
241 Wyngate Drive
N. Massapequa, New York 11758
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Vieni, Alexa
Review of Literature:
NATURE VS. NURTURE
Parents nourish and protect their children, teach them to walk and talk, instill
habits in their children, and provide the earliest models of social interaction and
emotional regulation. The nature vs. nurture theory studies the importance of a person’s
genetics (nature) in determining his/her characteristics versus the person’s environment
and experiences (nurture). Both factors play an important role in personal development.
The idea that an individual acquires most traits from nurture is known as tabula rasa
(blank slate). This idea focuses on hereditary traits as being highly malleable due to a
person’s childhood (Collins, Maccoby and Steinber, 2000). Environment and childhood
experiences define the conditions in which human personality evolves and shapes skills,
values, attitudes and identities. Because parents make up a significant component of a
child’s environment and experiences, they have a major influence on the personality traits
and behaviors of their children. Age and emotional status of the parent, and the quality of
parental care are major components on a child’s development (Kusdil, Saunders, and
Woodfield, 2000).
STRENGTH OF PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIPS
Parents who are part of their child’s upbringing play a significant role in the
development of that child’s personality. Parental attributions and behaviors are
influential factors in the way that their children develop (Miller 1995). Thus, most
children have many similar characteristics as their parents. Attitudes and values are
passed on from one generation to the next depending on the strength of the parent/child
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Vieni, Alexa
relationship. The strength of the relationship can be determined through several factors,
including the degree to which the parents support their child, as well as the degree to
which the parents agree on a variety of subjects and the general closeness of the family
(Inman-Amos and Hendrick, 1994). Other important factors that impact parent-child
relationships include the structure of authority in the family, the amount of children in the
family, and the degree of parent-child interaction (Starrels, 1992). Familiarity with the
child is the basis of a strong parent/child relationship. If a parent is similar to his/her
child, s/he will have a greater ability to empathize with the child. By doing so, the
relationship will grow stronger and the child will adopt more similarities from the parent
(Miller, 1995). The stronger the relationship is between the child and the parent, the
more likely the child will share traits with his/her parent. Moreover, the stronger the
relationship between the parent and his/her child, the stronger the relationships that the
child forms with others will be (Clatfelter, Isley and Parke, 1999).
ATTITUDES
Parents’ attitudes must be taken into consideration when predicting their
children’s attitudes. Since parents teach their children “the right way” (according to the
parent) to behave and act, one can conclude that beliefs, values and attitudes are passed
on from parents to their children. Furthermore, children will also learn such beliefs,
attitudes and values through indirect observation of their parents. A study by Lewis and
Rosenblem shows that parental influence can begin with the literature that the parent
chooses to read to the child (Bengtson, Dunham and Glass, 1986). The primary form of
development for children, especially young children, is imitation rather than learning.
Therefore, even if the parent intends to teach his/her children things that are different
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Vieni, Alexa
from their own practices, children are more inclined to act like their parents rather than
what their parents want them to be like (Starrels, 1992).
RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
Certain aspects, such as work ethic and relationship habits are passed on from
parent to child. In American culture, the husband’s role in the division of labor in the
family is generally valued over the wife’s role, suggesting a degree of imbalance of
power in families. The degree to which this imbalance holds true in a particular family is
passed on from parent to child (Starrels, 1992). Most adolescents are cognizant of their
parents’ values and usually do not continue a relationship in a manner that their parents
do not support or with a person of whom their parent does not approve (Inman-Amos and
Hendrick, 1994). Once the teens understand their parents’ values, they seek to establish
relationships with others that they know will be approved by their parents. Teens become
accustomed to the behavior that the parent approves so that they may continue it in their
adult years. Interaction styles between parents and their children are likely to be
“transferred” to the interactions the child has with social partners and peers (Clatfelter,
Isley and Parke, 1999). Furthermore, parents’ relationships with each other may
influence the child’s attitude toward relationships. For example, a child whose parents
always fight may be hesitant to marry at an early age (Inman-Amos and Hendrick, 1994).
Also, divorce seems to occur more often with individuals who were children of divorce
(Barber, 2001). Another specific example of parental influence on a child as shown in
studies is the number of children the mother has (Barber, 2001). Moreover, similarities
between mother and daughter or father and son become more defined when the child
marries (DeMeis and Perkins, 1996).
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Vieni, Alexa
COMMON-CLAUSE ASSOCIATIONS
A parent’s traits are not the sole influence on the development of a child.
Similarities between parents and their children may be caused, by “common-cause
associations”, such as race, religion, marital and social status that parents usually share
with their child, rather than by parental teachings of values (Bengtson, Dunham and
Glass, 1986). Other influential factors include “common-clause associations”, which are
shared by the parent and child, and can consist of similar occupation and education
opportunities, religion and politics (Starrels, 1992). In such an instance, other
environmental factors besides the characteristics of the parent influence the child’s
personal traits. A child may exhibit similar characteristics as others (such as the parent)
in the same common-clause association. In addition, he child sometimes has influence on
the parent, instead of the other way around, although only a few studies have dealt with
the reverse influence subject. The influence usually occurs as the child’s age increases,
thus extending the amount of influence the child has on his parent increases. Another
factor to consider in examining parent/child similarities is that some youth, especially in
their teenage years, do rebel from their parents’ teachings and establish their own
independence, because they feel the need to be different (Bengtson, Dunham and Glass,
1986). In most cases, as the child depends less on the parent for material and/or
emotional support and guidance and as the child ages, the similarities will gradually
decrease (Bengtson, Dunham and Glass). Furthermore, it is important to note that a
child’s behaviors may change temporarily, depending on a temporary situation. For
example, peer pressure in middle school or high school may influence a child to care
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Vieni, Alexa
more about his/her appearance, although once the child reaches high school s/he may be
more comfortable to dress the way that s/he likes (Miller, 1995).
Rationale for Study:
When observing the daily habits of most children and teens, it is clear that several
of their personality traits are similar to those of their mother and/or father. Sometimes,
parents do not realize that they possess similar traits and daily habits as their children,
just as many children may not realize that they may adopt similar traits as their parents.
Children often blame their parents for their own unwanted characteristics and behaviors
without realizing that there is no link at all. Thus, this study is designed to find out
exactly which traits were commonly repeated in two generations, and which traits seemed
to show no link between parents and children. It is interesting to learn which traits a
child possess because s/he imitates his/her parent and which traits (if any) that the child
possesses are unrelated to the parent’s traits.
General Hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Parents and children will be more similar than different in the studied
categories.
Hypothesis 2: Children will be most like their parents in categories where daily habits
can be imitated and copied (rude vs. manners, shy vs. outgoing, active/competitiveness
vs. passive, procrastination vs. punctuality, spontaneity vs. planning, health, silliness vs.
seriousness, appearance).
Hypothesis 3: Children will be most unlike their parents in categories that are personal
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Vieni, Alexa
opinions and beliefs (political views, generosity vs. self-centered, adaptability to change,
confidence vs. insecurity, laidback vs. excited).
Methodology:
This study was designed to test the similarities and differences between parents
and their children in regard to groups of personality traits and habits. Articles of previous
studies by Bengston, Dunham, Chorn and Glass, regarding parent and child relationships
were used as a guide for establishing the basic area of study. Previous studies were used
for determining habits, traits and behaviors to be studied. My study was narrowed to
forty-eight questions testing parents and children only in specific categories. Different
questions from several personality and daily habits surveys were used as a guide to
determine which questions to use for each category. Participants were given a statement
and asked to determine the extent to which each statement is correct. The categories that
each subject was tested in are: confidence vs. insecurity, procrastination vs. punctuality,
spontaneity vs. planning, healthy vs. unhealthy, silliness vs. seriousness, appearance
concerned vs. not appearance concerned, generosity vs. self-centeredness,
active/competitive vs. passive, shy vs. outgoing, laid-back vs. enthusiastic, rude vs. well-
mannered, ability to adapt to change and political views.
This survey involved minimal risk, and was submitted to the Institutional Review
Board (IRB) of Plainedge High School for approval. It was mandatory that each
participant consent and all participants under the age of eighteen fill out a human consent
form, which was signed by the parent.
A Likert scale was used to measure the participants’ answers to the questions.
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Vieni, Alexa
Participants were asked to rate questions on a scale of 1-5. 1 represented an answer
stating “never”, 2 represented “occasionally”, 3 represented “about half the time”, 4
represented “frequently”, and 5 represented “always.”
In addition, a series of demographic questions were asked to determine each
person’s social status. These questions provided the participant’s age, gender, race,
religion, highest level of education, employment status, family financial (annual) income,
whether the person was adopted or not, martial status, number of siblings and gender and
age of siblings. The demographic analysis provides the general sociological, economic,
religious and racial background of the participants. It provides limitations of this survey,
because there were much greater concentrations in some areas, and much less in others.
The surveys were anonymous. However, because this study was designed
specifically to test a child compared to his/her own parent(s), each family was asked to
label their surveys with a family code or ID. Each member of the family had to have the
same codes for grouping purposes. The codes were entirely made up by the family. The
question about the person’s age was used to determine whether the person was a child or
a parent. In some cases, more than one parent from the same family was surveyed. In
such instances, the child was compared to each parent.
The participants in this survey ranged from ages “fourteen to nineteen” to “older
than sixty-nine.” That is, many adult children as well as teens were surveyed in
comparison to their parents. This survey was distributed to students who attended
Plainedge High School, as well as high school students from different districts, college
students, and adult children and their parent. 100-150 of 340 participants were not from
Plainedge High School. The rest of the participants were distributed randomly among 9th,
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Vieni, Alexa
10th, 11th and 12th grade regents (average classes without AP or honors distinction),
honors and AP English students in Plainedge and were taken by the student and his/her
parent(s). After several surveys were discarded due to inadequate or inappropriate
results, 340 surveys were used for my study (including instances where the same child’s
results were compared with more than one parent’s; in such instances, the child was
counted twice so that s/he matched up with the correct parent).
The survey was conducted and distributed using paper surveys that had to be
handed back to the distributor (with a signed Human Consent form if age required).
Once the maximum number of participants returned their finished surveys, the data from
each survey was entered into SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Both SPSS
and Microsoft Excel were used to organize and analyze my results.
My data was grouped according to category. Questions pertaining to each
category were grouped. The average of the parents’/children’s answers for each of the
questions per group were taken.
A paired sample T-test was used to compare the average of the child with the
average of the parent in the same family and then to compare this holistically. The
parents’ average for a certain category (consisting of several questions pertaining to that
category) was compared to his/her child’s average for that same category. A p value was
thus determined to compare such values with a single number. My hypotheses were
tested in the same manner, since they were all regarding the categories of grouped
questions.
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Vieni, Alexa
Data Analysis
DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
There was the highest concentration of Roman Catholics (over seventy percent of
parents and children). There was the least concentration of Muslims (less than one
percent of children and parents). About two-thirds of parents were employed and about
one-third of children were employed. The majority of participant’s family financial
income fell somewhere in between $25,000-$150,000. The number of siblings that the
children had ranged from zero to four. The number of siblings that the parent had ranged
from zero to five. More than 90% of participants were White/Caucasian. Sixteen percent
of parents did not live with a spouse
Age Groups
(never married, divorced, separated or
80
widowed) and eighty-four percent of 70
60
50
(percent)
parents were married. Zero percent of Children
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Parents
both children and parents were 30
20
adopted. Most children were fourteen- 10
0
nineteen years old (greater than 60%)
9
9
9
9
9
r t -69
69
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
14
20
30
40
50
de 60
n
ha
and most parents were forty-forty-nine
ol
years old (greater than 60%). (years)
Education level was distributed somewhat evenly in parents. More than 70% of parents
were female.
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Vieni, Alexa
ANALYSIS BY CATEGORY
The sample (exported from Microsoft Excel) listed below shows the different
categories along with the statements that pertain to each. Parent 1 and his or her child
(Child 1) and their evaluation (1-5) for each statement, along with the parent and child’s
average evaluation for that category are also shown below. A p value (the result of the
paired T-Tests of the averages of all parents and children) for each category is also listed.
For a p value to be statistically significant, it had to be greater that .01 (p>.01).
Hypothesis 1: Parents and children will be more similar than different in the
studied categories.
This hypothesis was tested using the paired T-Test application on Microsoft
Excel. This hypothesis was correct. There were more categories that were surveyed
where the parent and child showed similar traits and behaviors (seven, in total) than there
were that the parent and child showed different traits and behaviors (six, in total).
Parents and children were similar in rudeness and manners, spontaneity vs. planning,
healthy vs. unhealthy, appearance, active/competitiveness vs. passive, shy vs. outgoing
and political views. Parents and children were not similar in procrastination vs.
punctuality, confidence vs. insecurity, silliness vs. seriousness, generosity vs. self-
centered, laid back vs. enthusiastic and adaptability to change.
Hypothesis 2: Children will be most like their parents in categories where habits
and actions can be imitated and copied (neatness vs. sloppiness and rudeness and
manners, shy vs. outgoing, active/competitive vs. passive, procrastination vs. punctuality,
spontaneity vs. planning, health habits, silliness vs. seriousness, appearance habits).
This hypothesis was tested using the paired T-Test application on Microsoft
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Vieni, Alexa
Excel. Procrastination vs. punctuality was the only category in this hypothesis where
children were not shown to be significantly similar. Thus, in general it can be inferred
that children will be most like their parents in categories where habits and actions that
determine the extent to which a person possesses such traits, can be imitated.
Parents and their children were shown to be similar in the following categories.
HEALTHY VS. UNHEALTHY
Dessert is my favorite meal. I exercise at least three times a week. I try to eat healthy. I eat breakfast. Average P Value
Child 1 4 5 4 5 4.5 0.098808
Parent
1 2 1 3 2 2
Parents and their children were similar regarding whether or not they were concerned
with their health. The p value for this category was 0.098808 (p>.01).
APPEARANCE
I love getting dressed up for work/school. I get my hair and/or nails done. Average P Value
Parent
1 5 5 5 0.01177
Child 1 5 5 5
There was a similarity between parent and child, regarding whether or not the person was
concerned about appearance. The p value for this category was 0.01177 (p>.01).
ACTIVE/COMPETITIVENESS VS. PASSIVE
I find that I am the leader I feel competitive during a I agree with others during a
during group activities. conversation. conversation. I think I am right. Average P Value
Parent 1 4 2 3 3 3 0.130974
Child 1 2 2 2 4 2.5
Significance was determined in the category, active/competitive nature vs. passive nature,
for which the p value was 0.130974 (p>.01).
SHY VS. OUTGOING
I like being alone I do not make eye contact I am interested in what I like having one close friend
when I feel sad. during a conversation. other people have to say. rather than many acquaintances. Average P Value
Parent 1 3 2 5 3 3.25 0.918853
Child 1 5 3 4 3 3.75
Whether the person was shy or outgoing showed a significant similarity. The p value for
this category was 0.918853 (p>.01).
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Vieni, Alexa
POLITICAL VIEWS
I am more liberal than conservative. I am more Republican than Democratic. Average P Value
Parent 1 5 3 4 0.130302
Child 1 4 4 4
There were significant similarities in the parent’s and the child’s political views, since the
p value was 0.130302 (p>.01).
SPONTANEITY VS. PLANNING
I am a morning I do not make plans just incase I use coupons I spend more money I collect
person. something better comes along. when I shop. than I save. things. Average P Value
Child 1 5 2 3 4 1 3 0.259693
Parent 1 1 1 1 5 4 2.4
There was a significantly similar p value with spontaneity and planning habits, as the
value was 0.259693 (p>.01).
RUDE VS. MANNERS
I ask the waiter/waitress to bring back my meal once or more
I do not interrupt a conversation. times at a restaurant. Average P Value
Parent 1 3 2 2.5 0.640948
Child 1 3 1 2
The category, rudeness and manners, portrayed a p value of 0.640948 (p>.01), indicating
a similarity.
Hypothesis 3: Children will be least like their parents in categories that are
personal opinions, traits and beliefs (political views, generous vs. self-centered, the
ability to adapt to change, confidence vs. insecurity, laidback vs. excited).
This hypothesis was also tested using the paired T-Test application on Microsoft
Excel. The only category in this hypothesis where children were shown to be
significantly similar was political views. Therefore, children are not similar to their
parents in the majority of such categories that are personal opinions, traits and beliefs,
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Vieni, Alexa
because it is more difficult for such qualities to be expressed as actions that the child can
copy. There may have been less categories in which parents and children were not
similar, if younger children were surveyed. Since participants of this survey were
fourteen or older, the children were more mature and not as malleable as younger
children. As a child grows older, s/he can form personality traits that are influenced by
different factors other than his/her parents (including teachers, friends). If younger
children had been surveyed, there may have been more categories in which parents and
their children were similar.
Parents and their children were not shown to be similar in the following
categories.
PROCRASTINATION VS. PUNCTUALITY
I get up before I wait until the last I work better I return phone I stop trying if I do
8am on minute to get under calls as soon I finish what I not see results right
weekends. something done. pressure. as I get them. start. away. Average P Value
5.74025E-
Child 1 3 4 4 2 4 3 3.333333 07
Parent
1 1 5 5 1 4 2 3
In the category, procrastination vs. punctuality, the p value was 5.74025E-07 (p
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