Nurture appears to notch a win this week in its eternal quarrel with nature. An international research collaboration shows that kids raised by affectionate moms were more apt to develop certain positive personality traits.
Specifically, the findings suggest that warm, nurturing parenting (up to at least age 10) typically produces kids more open to new experiences, act more conscientiously, and are more agreeable by the time they turn 18.
“Personality traits are strong predictors of important life outcomes, from academic and career success to health and well-being,” lead author and University of Edinburgh psychology professor Jasmin Wertz, PhD, said in a press release. “Our findings suggest that fostering positive parenting environments in early childhood could have a small but significant and lasting impact on the development of these crucial personality traits.”
“Twinning”
The research – culled from Britain’s E-Risk Longitudinal Twin Study – offers a new perspective on how our childhood environments help dictate who we grow up to be.
While earlier intervention studies exposed a connection between parenting and conscientious children, this paper might be the first to illustrate how far into adulthood that persists. It also shows just how many other traits it helps nurture – such as openness and agreeableness.
These are attributes that other research has shown to play a significant role in our lives – at least in terms of education, employment, and health. As a result, the authors hint at the potential of these findings to better inform public policy.
“This research provides valuable evidence for the potential of parenting programs to influence critical aspects of personality development,” Wertz added. “However, it also highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of how different factors, including genetics, parenting and life experiences, interact to shape who we are.”
Respecting the Nuance of Nurture
As Wertz suggested, these results offer insight – however nuanced – into other personality traits, such as extraversion and neuroticism.
For example, while affectionate parenting appeared to influence both traits in the full sample, those connections faded once the team focused solely on identical twins. This, they offer, might mean that earlier studies linking parenting to these traits might have exaggerated parenting’s influence on these specific traits.
Despite some obvious limitations, the study’s design remains one of the few observational approaches that can tease apart genetic and environmental effects.
One of those limitations, the authors concede, is that the observed effects were small. Even so, they argue that even small effects can snowball into meaningful societal impacts — especially when they influence traits like conscientiousness.
“Small differences in individual development can lead to significant changes when magnified across populations,” the authors wrote.
In theory, these study results challenge the pessimistic view that insists that nonshared environmental influences remain random and unpredictable. Instead, the authors argue that this adds to mounting evidence that specific, modifiable environmental factors – like parenting – contribute meaningfully (if modestly) to personality development.
While, admittedly, no single factor can change a child’s future, identifying the small influence on that future can inform interventions – and public policy decisions.
Policy Implications
And those policy implications couldn’t be more clear. Traits like openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness don’t just augur personal success. They also play a role in the health and cohesion of broader communities. Patience, tolerance, and kindness — hallmarks of these traits — drive productive social functioning.
As such, parenting programs that nurture warmth and emotional responsiveness doesn’t just translate to better adults, but a better society
“There are many proven ways to support parents, such as policies that improve a family’s financial situation; access to treatment for parents who struggle with mental health problems such as depression; and parenting programs that help parents build stronger relationships with their children,” Wertz pointed out.
Parental training models aimed at pushing back against inequalities in personality development can help, too.
“By targeting parenting practices that promote positive traits in childhood, it may be possible to reduce disparities in life outcomes associated with socioeconomic background, family dynamics and other environmental factors,” Wertz said.
Further Reading
Genetics, Income, and Opportunity Shape Socio-Economic Outcomes
Dementia in One Twin Tied to Shorter Lifespan for Both Twins
