Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 10;18(12):6288.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18126288.

Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort (CPAP-Q): A Clinically and Empirically Procedure for Assessing Traits and Emerging Patterns of Personality in Childhood

Alexandro Fortunato  1 , Annalisa Tanzilli  1 , Vittorio Lingiardi  1 , Anna Maria Speranza  1
Affiliations

Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort (CPAP-Q): A Clinically and Empirically Procedure for Assessing Traits and Emerging Patterns of Personality in Childhood

Alexandro Fortunato et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Despite increasing research confirming the existence of childhood personalities, which are recognizable from a developmental perspective, controversies over the possibility to assess personality in childhood have continued. The purpose of this study was to provide initial data on the validation of the Childhood Personality Assessment Q-Sort (CPAP-Q), a clinician report instrument that can be employed to evaluate children's personalities and address the gap in the field of emerging personality in children classification.

Method: A sample of 135 clinicians completed the CPAP-Q to assess the personality features of 135 children (ages 4-11) who had been in their care between two and 12 months. The clinicians completed a clinical questionnaire to collect information on them, the children, and their families, as well as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), to evaluate the children's behavioral problems and social competencies.

Results: Q-factor analysis identified seven specific emerging personality patterns: psychological health, borderline/impulsive, borderline/dysregulated, schizoid, inhibited/self-critical, obsessive, and dysphoric/dependent. These patterns revealed good levels of validity and reliability.

Conclusions: These findings are preliminary, but seem to support the possibility of evaluating emerging personality patterns in childhood and their developmental pathways that may lead to personality disorders in adolescence and adulthood. The CPAP-Q promises to significantly contribute to less explored research areas and encourage systematic studies of children assessment, promoting best practices for individualized diagnoses.

Keywords: CPAP-Q; child personality; diagnosis; emerging personality patterns.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

References

    1. Caspi A., Roberts F., Shiner R. Personality development: Stability and change. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2005;56:453–484. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141913. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McAdams D.P., Olson B.D. Personality Development: Continuity and change over the life course. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2010;61:517–542. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100507. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Widiger T.A., De Clercq B., De Fruyt F. Childhood antecedents of personality disorder: An alternative perspective. Dev. Psychopathol. 2009;21:771–791. doi: 10.1017/S095457940900042X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM IV-R. American Psychiatric Publishing; Washington, DC, USA: 2000.
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed. American Psychiatric Publishing; Arlington, VA, USA: 2013.

Publication types