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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Childhood Personality and Academic Performance: A Sibling Fixed-Effects Study

Andrea Constantinou 1, Tilmann von Soest 1,2, Henrik Daae Zachrisson 3, Rosa Cheesman 1 † *

& Eivind Ystrom 1, 4 †

1 PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway

2 Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway

3 Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Norway

4 Department of Mental Disorders, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway

†
Joint senior authors.

* Corresponding author: Rosa Cheesman, PROMENTA Center, Department of

Psychology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1094, 0373, Oslo, Norway. [email protected]

Data availability: The data are available for researchers with study questions that fall within the

general aims of MoBa. Approval from a Norwegian regional committee for medical and health

research ethics [ https://helseforskning.etikkom.no ] is a pre-requirement. The MoBa protocol

and guidelines for access to data are found at [ www.fhi.no/moba-en ]. Enquiries can be sent to

[[email protected]]. Data from the Norwegian Educational Database can be accessed via

Statistics Norway (see here: https://www.ssb.no/en/data-til-forskning).

Acknowledgements & Funding: RC and EY are supported by the Research Council of Norway

(288083). This paper is part of the research project “The Choice Architecture of Admission to
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Education (ArcEd)” supported by the Research Council of Norway (grant no. 325245). HDZ and

EY are supported by the ERC consolidator grant EQOP “Socioeconomic gaps in language

development and school achievement: Mechanisms of inequality and opportunity” (ERC CoG

818425). This study was not pre-registered.

Conflict of interests: We have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Ethical approval: The establishment of MoBa and initial data collection was based on a licence

from the Norwegian Data Protection Agency and approval from The Regional Committees for

Medical and Health Research Ethics. The MoBa cohort is now based on regulations related to the

Norwegian Health Registry Act. The current study was approved by The Regional Committees

for Medical and Health Research Ethics (project # 2017/2205).

Permission to reproduce material from other sources: NA.

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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This study investigates associations between personality traits at age eight and academic
performance between ages 10 to 14, controlling for family confounds. Sibling data from the
Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) were used (n = 9,701). First, we estimated
overall associations between Big Five personality traits and academic performance, including
literacy, numeracy, and foreign language. Second, we added sibling fixed effects to remove
unmeasured confounders shared by siblings as well as rating bias. Openness to Experience
(between-person β=0.22 [95% CI 0.21 - 0.24]) and Conscientiousness (between-person β=0.18
[95% CI 0.16 - 0.20]) were most strongly related to educational performance. Agreeableness
(between-person β=0.06 [95% CI -0.08 - 0.04]) and Extraversion (between-person β=0.02 [95%
CI 0.00 - 0.04]) showed small associations with educational performance. Neuroticism had a
moderate negative association (between-person beta=-0.14 [95% CI -0.15 - 0.11]). All
associations between personality and performance were robust to confounding: the within-family
estimates from sibling fixed effects models overlapped with the between-person effects. Finally,
childhood personality was equally predictive of educational performance across ages and
genders. Although family background is influential for academic achievement, it does not
confound associations with personality. Childhood personality traits reflect unbiased and
consistent individual differences in educational potential.

Keywords: childhood personality, Big Five, academic performance, sibling fixed-effects

design
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Introduction

Childhood Personality and Academic Performance: A Sibling Fixed-Effects Study

Academic performance in childhood and adolescence strongly predicts success and well-

being (Andersen et al., 2019). As such, it is important to understand why individual differences

in achievement arise. A large body of research has identified factors contributing to academic

performance. Evidence shows that cognitive resources such as general cognitive ability are

among the best predictors of academic performance (Laidra et al., 2007). However, there is also

a strong and growing interest in a range of individual characteristics that are often summarized as

“non-cognitive” skills, such as personality traits, motivation, academic mindsets, social skills,

academic perseverance, and learning strategies, that also play an essential role in shaping

students’ everyday learning behavior and their academic performance (Brandt et al., 2020;

Gatzka & Hell, 2018; Mammadov et al., 2018; Spengler et al., 2016).

Even though personality is a non-cognitive factor that is systematically related to

academic performance (Cunha & Heckman, 2008; Richardson et al., 2012), to date, a limited

number of studies have evaluated the importance of primary school-age personality on later

academic performance. In the most comprehensive assessment of the relationship between

academic outcomes and the Big Five, which is the predominant theoretical framework for

describing personality (McCrae & Costa, 1999), Mammadov (2021) synthesized independent

samples (n = 29,080 to 166,436) in 23 (Extraversion) to 31 (Conscientiousness) unique studies of

personality and primary school educational performance over the last 30 years. Overall, this

meta-analysis shows evidence that previous studies have mainly used correlational or cross-

sectional research designs to examine the associations between personality and academic

performance. In such designs, results may be confounded by factors that are systematically
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
related to personality and academic performance. Such factors include household environment

such as socio-economic status, shared school influences, systematic parental rating bias, and

genetic effects (Damian & Roberts, 2015; Paulhus et al., 1999; Serna, 2004). Importantly, even

after extensive controls for these known confounds, observational studies provide limited causal

knowledge if unmeasured confounds and reverse causality are at play. To date, we are unaware

of any studies estimating associations between the Big Five and academic performance in

primary/lower secondary school level (students aged from 10 to 14) whilst controlling for

unmeasured confounds. Thus, the main contribution of this study is the application of a sibling

fixed-effects design, which allows us to solve the limitations of previous studies by removing

unmeasured confounding factors shared by siblings (home environment, shared genetic

influences) as well as rating bias (shared rating bias due to having the same parent).

The Big Five Model of Personality

According to Allport (1961), personality influences a person’s characteristic patterns of

behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Although personality traits show changes in mean levels across

the lifespan, there seems to be substantial stability even from childhood (Caspi et al., 2005;

Hampson & Goldberg, 2006). Decades of research in this field have uncovered five basic

personality factors that have repeatedly and consistently emerged upon analyses of the traits

most used in psychological instruments to describe people. The Big Five model, as proposed by

Costa and McCrae (1992), includes the following major personality dimensions: Openness to

Experience (O), Conscientiousness (C), Extraversion (E), Agreeableness (A), and Neuroticism

(N).

The Big Five is considered a robust theoretical framework for describing personality

(McCrae & Costa, 1999) and is one of the most popular and empirically supported models
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
(Allik et al., 2018; Feher & Vernon, 2021; Miller et al., 2003; Saucier, 2009). Even though some

studies indicated that it might be inappropriate for children since it was based on a model

initially developed for adults (De Fruyt et al., 2006; Measelle et al., 2005), a comprehensive

synthesis of 54 meta-analyses conducted by Zell & Lesick (2021), supports the notion that the

Big Five is valid for educational research with children, and has robust associations with

performance.

The Associations between the Big Five and Childhood Academic Performance (students aged

from 10 to 14)

From a theoretical perspective, several Big Five personality traits may be related to

school performance because they describe individual characteristics that may facilitate learning

and test performance. Conscientiousness may be of particular importance because students who

score high on Conscientiousness tend to be self-disciplined, effective at carrying out tasks and

organized (McCrae & John, 1992). These characteristics are expected to help students’

performance in examinations, tests, and other evaluation measures. Moreover, Openness to

Experience has been shown to be associated with performance-related outcomes such as a

positive approach to learning (Vermetten et al., 2001), autonomous motivation, and critical

thinking (Bidjerano & Dai, 2007), which, in turn, may have positive effects on students’ success.

Furthermore, given that Extraversion and Agreeableness are both interpersonal traits, their

relationships with performance might be related to how student performance is measured. For

example, students who cooperate, share, and listen in the classroom, may get high-performance

evaluations in group course projects, while a human evaluator can be biased by students’

personalities (Mammadov, 2021). Finally, high levels of Neuroticism may have aversive
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
effects on academic performance because students with high scores on this personality

dimension tend to exhibit higher stress and anxiety levels. As a result, they tend to perform

poorer on tests, exams, or other evaluation assessments (Ackerman et al., 2011; O’Connor &

Paunonen, 2007).

The associations between the Big Five personality traits and academic performance at

school are well-documented empirically, at least based on correlational research designs or

cross-sectional observation studies (Borghans et al., 2016; Mammadov, 2021; Poropat, 2009;

Vedel & Poropat, 2017). The first systematic review of correlations between Big Five

personality traits and educational performance was presented by Hough et al. (1990) and has

recently been followed by more rigorous and systematic reviews and meta-analyses (Andersen et

al., 2019; Demetriou et al., 2019; Mammadov, 2021; Poropat, 2009, 2014a; Richardson et al.,

2012). Collectively, these have demonstrated that personality has reliable and substantial

associations with academic performance. More specifically, Conscientiousness was the best

personality predictor of academic performance (r = 0.27) in a recent meta-analysis (Mammadov,

2021), while Openness to Experience demonstrated a weak and positive overall association

(r = 0.16). In the same meta-analysis, Extraversion was found to be related to academic

performance in primary and lower secondary education (r = 0.15) but not at subsequent levels. In

contrast, Neuroticism was not significantly related to school performance outcomes (r = −0.02).

Finally, Agreeableness emerged as a significant but weak predictor of academic performance (r =

0.09). Overall, the mean effect size estimates reported in the meta-analysis of Mammadov (2021)

were slightly larger than those reported in previous meta-analyses (Gatzka & Hell, 2018;

McAbee & Oswald, 2013; Poropat, 2009; Trapmann et al., 2007; Vedel, 2014); however, given
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
that Mammadov’s meta-analytic sample was much larger and included all relevant original

studies from previous meta-analyses, his estimates are the most trustworthy.

Finally, previous research suggests that the strength of association between the Big Five

and academic performance may change depending on the level of education (Poropat, 2009). In

his meta-analysis, Mammadov (2021) found that although Conscientiousness and Neuroticism

were equally important across all educational levels, Openness to Experience, Extraversion, and

Agreeableness were the stronger predictors of academic performance in primary compared to

secondary and post-secondary education. One possible explanation for these findings is the

different assessment practices in post-secondary education or the fact that students’ performance

at primary school is assessed based on a standard curriculum, which tends to vary widely at

subsequent levels of education (Tatar, 1998). Previous studies indicate that the effect of early

personality on education attenuates with time; however, these studies have not consistently

measured educational performance over time. In all, it is unclear to what extent childhood

personality is equally relevant for concurrent as to future educational performance.

Rater Bias and Shared Familial Confounding: the Limitations of Previous Studies

To sum up, previous research provides consistent evidence that students’ personality is

related to academic performance. Nonetheless, somewhat neglected issues are rating bias and

shared familial confounding. Firstly, most research in the field is based on parental reports of

children’s personality. However, when parents rate their children’s personality, they typically

provide biased ratings since they rate them more favorably than others do (Laidra et al., 2006;

Poropat, 2013); therefore, rater bias have taken into account in these studies. Based on this, one

could argue that rating bias is a general problem in measuring childhood personality because
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
interpreting these ratings has implications for causal relationships between personality and

academic performance.

Secondly, potential confounders affecting personality and academic performance need to

be considered. For example, personality traits and academic performance are heritable

characteristics, with heritability estimates for personality in adolescents and adults of ~40%

(Vukasovic & Bratko, 2015). There is a lack of studies on the heritability of Big Five personality

in children; however, Spengler et al. (2012) estimated Big Five personality to be >50% heritable

in 202 ten-year-old German twin pairs. Given the small size of this study, it is uncertain to what

extent household environments, or “shared environments”, influence childhood Big Five

personality. Some of the genes influencing achievement may also influence personality, making

it likely that associations between these variables are not only due to causal phenotypic effects

but also genetic confounding (Bueno, 2019).

Based on the above, there is a need for studies on personality and performance that

researchers can adjust for rating bias and confounding factors shared by members of the same

family. For this reason, in this study, we use a sibling fixed-effects design, which adjusts for all

stable factors that have equal effects on siblings in the same family; this will allow us to go

beyond the limitations of previous studies. This design essentially estimates to what extent the

differences between sibling pairs in their personality can explain differences in their school

performance. There are broadly two types of familial confounding: by environments shared by

siblings or by shared genetic variants. In the case of familial environmental confounds explaining

the entire effect of personality on educational performance, we would expect the effect to go

null. Since siblings, on average only share 50% of their genes, in a scenario with only genetic

confounds explaining the effect, we would expect the association to be halved under genetic
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
confounding (see Figure 1). With any mixture of these two types of familial confounds, we

would expect the effect to go to a place between halved and null. In the scenario of an unbiased

effect, we would expect the effect to be close to what is found when not adjusting for

unmeasured familial confounds (i.e., “unbiased”; see Figure 1). Because childhood personality in

this study was rated by the same mother, within-pair differences cannot be due to systematic

rating bias (to the extent that it is the same for both siblings). Moreover, the use of fixed-effects

models means that all unobserved confounds shared between siblings, such as the home

environment, schools, neighborhoods, and genetics, are controlled for (again, at least to the

extent that these are experienced similarly by members of the pair). As a result, the sibling fixed

effects design provides better information about causal associations than correlational research

designs or cross-sectional observational studies.

Figure 1. Expected between and within family associations under the assumptions of no
confounding, genetic confounding, and environmental confounding using the sibling control
design.
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Hypotheses
Using a population-based sample of siblings to adjust for factors shared by members of

the same family, we aim to estimate the association between Big Five personality at age eight

and academic performance from age 10 to 14. Previous evidence suggests that confounding

factors, including household environment, socio-economic status, shared school influences,

systematic parental rating bias, and genetic effects, are likely to be at play. However, due to the

strong associations between personality and achievement in the literature, we hypothesize that

mid-childhood Five Factor personality still has a non-zero within-family effect on academic

performance over and beyond confounds. Given the importance of Conscientiousness in previous

studies and personality being strongly influenced by factors not shared by siblings, we

hypothesize that Conscientiousness will also be the strongest predictor of academic performance

within families.

Methods

Data and Participants

Data were used from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) conducted

by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH). MoBa is a prospective population-based

pregnancy cohort study following over 100,000 pregnancies. Recruitment started in 1999, and

both mothers and fathers were invited. In 2008, the goal of more than 100,000 pregnancies was

reached (Magnus et al., 2016). In MoBa, there were 106,658 children born after August 2002,

with questionnaire data linked to register data from Statistics Norway. We present the sample

selection in Figure 2. We excluded the second and third child of multiple births (i.e., twin #2 and

triplet #2 and #3), children with lacking paternal id in the registry (to ascertain that they are full

siblings), children who died before the age of 8, children without a record in the Medical Birth
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Registry of Norway, children without siblings in MoBa, and missing or invalid questionnaire

data at eight years. This resulted in an analysis sample of 9,701 children. Among these, 4,770

children were part of sibling pairs, 157 were part of sibling trios, and four children were part of

sibling quadruples. The average sibling age difference was 2.58 years with SD = 0.99. Five

hundred and sixty-six children had missing data on national test scores, but valid data on

personality to be applied in the sibling fixed effect model. The analysis sample consisted of

children attending Grade 5 (corresponding to primary education), Grade 8, and Grade 9

(corresponding to lower secondary education).

MoBa sample born > 2003

n = 106,657 children Child 2 and 3 from multiple
births n = 1835

Dataset
n = 104,882 Lack of parental id in ssb
n = 581

Dataset
n = 104,241 Died before the age of 8
n = 275

Dataset
n = 103,966 8-year questionnaire not
submitted n = 12,602

Dataset
n = 91,364 Not in the Medical Birth
Registry of Norway n= 149

Dataset
n = 91,215 Mother participated with 1
pregnancy n = 66,953
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Dataset
n = 24,262 Non-response on 8-year
questionnaire n = 11,910

Dataset
n = 12,352 Invalid HIPiC personality
data n = 48

Dataset
n = 12,304
Sibling cluster with <2
valid observations n= 2.603

Dataset
n = 9,701

Figure 2. Flow chart of participants

Measures
At age eight, mothers rated their children’s personality using a validated Norwegian short

form of the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC; Mervielde & De Fruyt,

1999; Vollrath et al., 2016). The HiPIC short form assesses each of the Big Five Factors using

six items. We calculated standardized scores for each scale using a Graded Response Item

Response Theory model in Stata 17.0.

Academic performance was measured using standardized national test results in Grades

5, 8, and 9 for literacy, numeracy, and foreign language (i.e., English). The test in English was

not given in 9th Grade. The tests were obtained through linkage to Norway’s National Education

Database. The tests were introduced in 2007 to monitor school development. The tests are

compulsory, with 96% of all students in Norway taking them. Students with special needs and

those following introductory language courses may be exempt. At each age, we calculated a
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mean score of numeracy and literacy but kept foreign language separate due to no measurement

in 9th Grade. We standardized by the complete registry population means and standard deviations

for each test in each year.

Analyses
We estimated linear mixed models by means of the mixed function in Stata 17.0. Each

child had up to three lines of data representing tests in 5th, 8th, and 9th Grade with an age variable

centered to 5th Grade. The siblings were nested within a family cluster variable. We estimated

correlated random intercepts and random slopes for age at the child (2nd) level and family (3rd)

level. The analyses were adjusted for maternal parity (i.e., sibling birth order effects). Effects of

personality estimated interacting with both age, gender, and age*gender. With the centering of

age and gender (centered to gender grand mean), any additional contributions to the model from

these interactions indexes that either the effect of personality on academic performance increases

from mid-childhood to adolescence (i.e., age*personality), if the effect of personality on

academic performance differs across gender (i.e., gender*personality), or if the effect of

personality over age differs by gender (i.e., age*gender*personality). For the sibling fixed effects

model, we included mean personality for the child clusters and centered the personality variables

on the cluster mean.

Results

The average maternal age was 30.47 years (SD = 3.93) (min = 18; max = 45). The sibling

intraclass correlations for Five Factor personality were: Conscientiousness (.22), Openness to

Experience (.29), Extraversion (.23), Neuroticism (.23), and Agreeableness (.25). The

participants scored 0.14 SD (i.e., foreign language 5th Grade) to 0.48 SD (i.e., total academic

performance) above the population mean. The siblings were moderately correlated with each
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
other on national academic performance tests, ranging from intra-class correlations (ICC) = .27

(i.e., literacy 9th Grade) to .45 (i.e., foreign language 8th Grade) (see Table 1).

Table 1

Descriptives of national academic performance tests

test grade n mean SD ICC ± SE*

total (literacy + numeracy) 5th 9,167 0.43 0.94 .39 ± .013

8th 4,613 0.48 0.93 .42 ± .028
9th 2,917 0.48 0.88 .34 ± .071

literacy 5th 8,993 0.36 0.94 .34 ± .014

8th 4,577 0.44 0.94 .34 ± .030
9th 2,884 0.42 0.88 .27 ± .079

numeracy 5th 9,108 0.40 0.95 .37 ± .013

8th 4,479 0.44 0.88 .42 ± .029
9th 2,884 0.19 0.88 .36 ± .067

foreign language   5th 9,033 0.14 0.96 .36 ± .013

8th 4,557 0.19 0.96 .45 ± .027
Note. *Adjusted for maternal parity and gender.

We tested the overall association between all personality traits and academic performance

(a composite of literacy and numeracy) by using linear mixed models. In a first series of models,

we estimated associations between the Big Five personality traits and overall academic

performance between individuals (black), and in a next series of results, within family effects

were estimated by using sibling fixed effect analyses (gray), as shown in Table 3.
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Figure 3. The associations between the Big Five and overall academic performance between
individuals and within families

As displayed in Figure 4, analyses were repeated to show associations between Big Five

personality traits and all three school subjects (symbols) separately, both between individuals

(black) and within families (gray).

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Figure 4. The associations between the Big Five and the three school subjects

Conscientiousness
Figure 3 shows that the association between Conscientiousness and overall academic

performance was positive (between-person beta=0.18 [95% CI 0.16 - 0.20]). When controlling

for confounding of the association between Conscientiousness and academic performance, we

found no evidence for confounding: the within-family effect (within-family beta=0.20 [95% CI

0.17 - 0.22] was overlapping with the between-person effect. We then explored differences in

associations between Conscientiousness and school subjects (i.e., literacy, numeracy, and foreign

language) and found them to be 0.14, 0.19, 0.14 (all p < .001). Associations were unattenuated

within families, estimated at 0.15, 0.21, and 0.16 for literacy, numeracy, and foreign language,

respectively (all p < .001; see Figure 4).

In additional steps, we examined whether associations between Conscientiousness and

academic performance were moderated by gender or age. Analyses showed no significant gender

differences in the association and no evidence of a change in the association over time (p > .05).

Openness to Experience
Figure 3 shows that the association between Openness to Experience and overall

academic performance was positive (between-person beta=0.22 [95% CI 0.21 - 0.24]). When

controlling for confounding of the association between Openness to Experience and academic

performance, we found no evidence for confounding: the within-family effect (within-family

beta=0.24 [95% CI 0.22 - 0.27] was overlapping with the between-person effect. We then

explored differences in associations between Openness to Experience and school subjects (i.e.,

literacy, numeracy, and foreign language) and found them to be 0.21, 0.20, 0.20 (all p <.001).
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Associations were unattenuated within families, estimated at 0.22 (p <.001), 0.23 (p <.01), and

0.21 (p <.001) for literacy, numeracy, and foreign language, respectively (see Figure 4).

In additional steps, we examined whether associations between Openness to Experience

and academic performance were moderated by gender or age. Analyses showed no significant

gender differences in the association and no evidence of a change in the association over time.

Extraversion

Figure 3 shows that the association between Extraversion and overall academic

performance was positive (between-person beta=0.02 [95% CI -0.00 - 0.04]). When controlling

for confounding of the association between Extraversion and academic performance, we found

no evidence for confounding: the within-family effect (within-family beta=0.04 [95% CI 0.02 -

0.07]) overlapped with the between-person effect. We then explored differences in associations

between Extraversion and school subjects (i.e., literacy, numeracy, and foreign language) and

found them to be 0.03 (p <.001), 0.00 (p >.05), 0.03 (p <.01). Associations were unattenuated

within families, estimated at 0.05 (p <.001), 0.03 (p <.05), and 0.03 (p <.05) for literacy,

numeracy, and foreign language, respectively (see Figure 4).

In additional steps, we examined whether associations between Extraversion and

academic performance were moderated by gender or age. Analyses showed no significant gender

differences in the association and no evidence of a change in the association over time.

Neuroticism

Figure 3 shows that the association between Neuroticism and overall academic

performance was negative (between-person beta=-0.14 [95% CI -0.15 - 0.11]). When controlling

for confounding of the association between Neuroticism and academic performance, we found
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
no evidence for confounding: the within-family effect (within-family beta=-0.16 [95% CI -0.18

- 0.13] was overlapping with the between-person effect. We then explored differences in

associations between Neuroticism and school subjects (i.e., literacy, numeracy, and foreign

language) and found them to be -0.10, -0.14, -0.09. Associations were unattenuated within

families, estimated at -0.12, -0.17, -0.11 for literacy, numeracy, and foreign language,

respectively (see Figure 4).

In additional steps, we examined whether associations between Neuroticism and

academic performance were moderated by gender or age. Analyses showed no significant gender

differences in the association and no evidence of a change in the association over time.

Agreeableness

Figure 3 shows that the association between Agreeableness and overall academic

performance was positive (between-person beta=0.06 [95% CI -0.08 - 0.04]). When controlling

for confounding of the association between Agreeableness and academic performance, we found

no evidence for confounding: the within-family effect (within-family beta=0.05 [95% CI -0.09 -

0.04] was overlapping with the between-person effect. We then explored differences in

associations between Agreeableness and school subjects (i.e., literacy, numeracy, and foreign

language) and found them to be 0.06, 0.05, and 0.06. Associations were unattenuated within

families, estimated at 0.07, 0.06, and 0.06 for literacy, numeracy, and foreign language,

respectively (see Figure 4).

In additional steps, we investigated whether associations between Agreeableness and

academic performance were moderated by gender or age. Analyses showed no significant gender

differences in the association and no evidence of a change in the association over time.
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CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Discussion

We found Big Five personality at eight years to be predictive of academic performance

from 10 to 14 years. Moreover, these relationships were unattenuated within families for all

personality traits and all educational outcomes. What is more, our findings indicate that

childhood personality is equally predictive for educational performance in girls and boys and

across ages 10 to 14. The strength of the association between personality and educational

performance varied across traits: Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness were the

personality traits most predictive of favorable educational performance. Neuroticism was

moderately negatively related to educational performance, while Agreeableness and Extraversion

had a modest positive association with educational performance. It is worth noting that previous

research reported that Conscientiousness is the most important personality trait in predicting

academic performance (Almlund et al., 2011; Mammadov, 2021; Poropat, 2009; Trapmann et al.,

2007; Vedel, 2014). However, in our study, Openness to Experience had a larger effect, followed

by Conscientiousness. Nonetheless, given that Conscientiousness tends to be highly independent

of Openness to Experience, the second best Big Five predictor of academic performance (Soto &

John, 2017), the results of this study are not expected to change the findings of previous studies

substantially.

Based on our results, we can conclude that Conscientiousness is an important non-

cognitive predictor of academic performance in the mid-childhood. Our results are in line with

previous studies, showing that Conscientiousness emerges as a strong and consistent predictor

(Mammadov, 2021). This personality dimension is associated with goal setting, concentration,

effort regulation (Poropat, 2009) and self-control (MacCann et al., 2009). Conscientiousness may

as such be the expression of a greater ability to self-regulate, leading to higher levels of time on
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task and consequently greater learning (Poropat, 2014). These characteristics and skills are

important for students to be successful across all academic domains and educational stages.

We also found Openness to Experience to be a non-cognitive predictor for academic

performance in mid-childhood. Our results are in line with previous studies where Openness to

Experience was found to be an important determinant of students’ performance, especially at

primary/lower secondary school levels (Mammadov, 2021). As stated by De Raad and

Schouwenburg (1996), Openness to Experience seems to reflect “the ideal student” (p. 327), who

is foresighted, smart, and resourceful. In addition, other studies have reported that Openness to

Experience was found to be positively correlated with an active approach to learning (Vermetten

et al., 2001), motivation to learn (Tempelaar et al., 2007), critical thinking (Bidjerano & Dai,

2007), and it has the strongest negative correlation with absenteeism (Lounsbury et al., 2004).

These features of students high on Openness to Experience may explain why this personality

dimension is related to favorable student performances.

Moreover, we found Extraversion to be modestly related to educational performance.

Previous studies on the Big Five and educational performance have provided mixed results

regarding this personality dimension. According to De Raad and Schouwenburg (1996),

extraverted students are expected to perform better academically due to their higher energy

levels and positive attitude that leads to a desire to learn and understand. In contrast, Eysenck

(1992) suggested that extraverts would be more likely to socialize and pursue other activities

than studying, and as a result, this would lead to lower levels of performance. Consequently, it is

less clear how Extraversion affects educational performance. Empirically there is weak evidence

for its practical significance, while one widely acknowledged argument is that its influence
 22
CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
occurs indirectly through some mediating variables (Mammadov, 2021; Richardson et al., 2012;

Woodfield et al., 2006).

Additionally, in this study, we found Neuroticism to have a moderate negative

association with educational performance. Indeed, our results are in line with previous studies

which found negative associations between Neuroticism and academic performance (Biderman

& Reddock, 2012; Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003; Gerbino et al., 2018). Moreover, in

the same vein, the meta-analysis of Mammadov (2021) indicated that Neuroticism does not seem

to be an important determinant of academic performance since the correlations were not

statistically significant. One possible explanation is that neurotic students tend to be more

distracted from their tasks due to their emotional state, which leads to poorer performance and

less learning. On the other hand, it is worth noting that other studies reported significant positive

correlations (Culjak & Mlacic, 2014; Lounsbury et al., 2004; Steele-Johnson & Leas, 2013).

However, the negative effect of Neuroticism seems theoretically more plausible as neurotic

students tend to demonstrate higher levels of anxiety and stress that, in turn, can result in poor

academic performance on tests or other assessments (Ackerman et al., 2011; O’Connor &

Paunonen, 2007).

Finally, we found that Agreeableness has a modest association with educational

performance. This result is also in line with the meta-analysis of Mammadov (2021), which

demonstrated that Agreeableness is a significant but weak predictor of academic performance (r

= 0.09). Agreeableness may positively impact academic performance by facilitating cooperation

with learning processes (De Raad & Schouwenburg, 1996). This idea is consistent with another

study that found Agreeableness to be linked to compliance with teacher instructions, effort, and

staying focused on learning tasks (Vermetten et al., 2001). Prior studies have to a great extent
 23
CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
used educational outcomes evaluated by the teacher. In such scenarios, the interpersonal skills

reflected by Agreeableness could influence the outcome. The application of objectively

measured standardized tests is in this respect a strength of the current study.

Between versus within Family Effects

In previous studies, there has been considerable concern regarding the confounding

effects of systematic rating bias (Brandt et al., 2021; Laidra et al., 2006). In our study, siblings

always had their personality evaluated by the same rater; their mother. Although siblings were

correlated with approximately .25 in their measured personality, which could partly reflect

maternal rating bias, we did not find the within-family effects of personality on educational

performance to be considerably attenuated. This does not prevent maternal rating bias from

confounding other associations with personality. However, it appears that it does not confound

associations with standardized performance tests done in a school setting.

By design, the sibling fixed effect approach adjusts for all stable factors that have equal

effects on siblings in the same family. This represents the socio-economic position and stable

aspects of the parents but only captures half of the shared genetic effects on personality and

educational performance. If the personality-educational performance association was entirely due

to genetic confounding, we would expect a 50% reduction in the effect, something we did not

observe. This could imply that the association is not confounded by genetic variants having an

effect on both personality and academic performance, even though both traits are heritable. Full

siblings are, on average, 50% genetically different, and the within-family effects of personality

on educational performance could therefore represent children seeking different environments to

improve their learning, such as friends, libraries, engagement in homework, and interactions with

adults. This type of child-driven genetic effect mediated through the environment is termed
 24
CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
“active gene-environment correlation” (Plomin et al., 1977; Scarr & McCartney, 1983). Future

studies using measured genotypes such as polygenic scores representing endogenous variation

(Pingault et al., 2018) in personality and non-cognitive skills (Demange, 2021) could potentially

reveal the active role of personality in educational performance.

Associations across Gender, Age and School Subjects

The results of this study show that the associations across gender, age and school

subjects, as potential moderating factors, were all consistent. Concerning gender effects, in this

study, we found childhood personality to be equally predictive of academic performance in girls

and boys. As demonstrated by Spinath et al. (2014), there is some evidence to support gender

differences in performance-related student characteristics. However, up to now, the findings that

have been reported to show that the Big Five predicts academic performance differently for boys

and girls are not consistent, while only a few studies examined gender differences in the

associations between academic performance and personality traits (Freudenthaler et al., 2008;

Hicks et al., 2008; Nguyen et al., 2005; Spinath et al., 2010). Furthermore, the meta-analysis

conducted by Mammadov (2021) did not find evidence for gender as a moderator.

As far as the age effects are concerned, previous studies suggested that the strength of

associations between personality traits and academic performance change as students advance

through the education system (Poropat, 2009); therefore, the moderating effect of age is expected

to be parallel to the changes associated with education level (Poropat, 2014). Based on this

argument, the meta-analysis of Mammadov (2021) reported that the effect of age was significant

for Openness to Experience and Extraversion, while subgroup analyses indicated that the

relationships between academic performance with Openness to Experience became weaker as

age increased. Also, the results of the same meta-analysis showed that the associations with other
 25
CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
personality traits and academic performance were not affected by age. In our study, we found the

effect of eight-year personality to be equally predictive of educational performance at any age

between 10 and 14 years, and this was expected since our sample consisted only of students

attending the primary level of education and the first year of lower secondary school level. As a

result, we were not able to identify any dynamic developmental processes.

Limitations and Future Directions

This study is not without limitations. First, our sibling design cannot control for

confounding factors not shared by sibling pairs (e.g., perinatal factors). Confounding factors not

shared by family members is an issue in both sibling comparisons and when comparing unrelated

individuals; it can be mitigated by adjusting for such factors. Second, our study focused on three

core subjects (i.e., literacy, numeracy, and foreign language). However, it would be interesting

for future studies to consider a broader range of academic subjects to test the associations

between personality traits and academic performance other than literacy, numeracy, and foreign

language. Future studies could also use a sibling fixed-effects design to test whether the same

results apply to upper secondary (students aged 15 to 17) and post-secondary (students after 18)

school levels. What is more, in our study, we used a nationwide sample of Norwegian children.

Future research could test whether the results found in Norway are replicable in other countries.

Finally, since academic performance seems to be particularly related to Conscientiousness and

Openness to Experience, schools may develop and implement programs that nurture non-

cognitive skills related to these personality traits, including creative thinking, perseverance, and

not just cognitive skills. For this reason, school-based practices and policies that aim to promote

academic performance should include activities that stimulate healthy personality development.

At the same time, it is also important for teachers to understand students’ preferred approach to
 26
CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
learning based on their personal characteristics because this influences the quality of learning

outcomes.

Conclusion

The present study reaffirms the critical role of personality traits in explaining academic

performance. First, our results suggest that high Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness

were the personality traits most predictive of educational performance. Agreeableness and

Extraversion had a modest positive association with educational performance, while Neuroticism

showed to be moderately negatively related to educational performance. Second, we controlled

for confounding of the association between all personality traits and academic performance using

a sibling fixed effects design; however, we found no evidence for confounding. Third, we found

childhood personality to be equally predictive of academic performance in girls and boys.

Finally, we found the effect of eight-year personality to be equally predictive of educational

performance at any age between 10 and 14 years.

 27
CHILDHOOD PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
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