Behavior problems and personality in Korean high school students

INTRODUCTION: Extant studies have examined the effect of psychological characteristics on clinical features that define behavior problems. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of temperament and character as both individual factors and complex profiles on behavior problems in a community sample of adolescents. METHODS: Behavior problems and personality of 670 Korean high school students were measured with the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and Junior version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI). Stepwise regression analysis analyzed the effects of JTCI character and temperament traits on YSR Total, Internalizing and Externalizing subscale scores, and Profile Analysis examined differences of JTCI personality profiles among three latent YSR subscale profiles acquired from Latent Profile Analysis. RESULTS: Seven subscales of the JTCI explained 38% of the YSR total degree of behavior problems, and JTCI Novelty-Seeking and Harm-Avoidance were found to account for vulnerability while JTCI Reward-Dependence and Self-Directedness explained resilience to behavior problems. There were three distinct latent YSR profile groups based on nine YSR subscales, and low behavior problem group showed a resilient personality profile characterized by low Novelty-Seeking and Harm-Avoidance and high Reward-Dependence, Persistence, Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness while high behavior problem group exhibited a vulnerable personality profile of the opposite tendency. DISCUSSION: Temperament and character explained behavior problems of Korean high school students as both individual personality traits and a complex personality profile. The results and implications of this study were examined in regard to mental health of adolescents, and the importance of education in the development of mature personality are discussed.