Personality and Social Relationships in Adolescence: A Dynamic Interplay

Abstract

The need to belong to someone represents an essential human need across the entire life span. In adolescence (i.e., the age between 10 and the early twenties), social networks undergo fundamental changes and new levels of intimacy are pursued. Thus, the initiation and maintenance of satisfying social relationships represent important developmental tasks for individuals in this age group and are key to well-being. Theoretical and empirical work has long emphasized the close link between personality and social relationships. Given that most studies in this field target adult samples, however, comparably little is known about the way personality relates to social relationships in adolescence. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms and the role of more complex patterns (e.g., interaction effects) within this as-sociation remain unclear. Integrating literature from developmental, social relationship, and personality psychological research, this dissertation followed three overall research aims. First, to investigate how personality traits relate to social relationships in adolescence, and, second, to investigate which processes in social interactions can explain this link. Finally, the third goal was to go beyond the study of linear main effects and investigate how personality traits interact with adolescents’ social environment and with each other. To address these goals, this dissertation encompasses three preregistered studies, which analyzed cross-sectional and longitudinal data of three different adolescent samples to elucidate the dynam-ic interplay of personality and social relationships in middle and late adolescence (i.e., the age between 14 and the early twenties). All three studies examined how adolescents’ personality traits relate to their social re-lationships while focusing on different socio-emotional outcomes located at the micro level (social interactions), meso level (specific relationships), and macro level (all relationships). Making use of experience sampling data and multilevel modeling, Study 1 adopted a micro-level perspective and examined how self- and other-perceptions of real-life social interaction behaviors contribute to the links between adolescent’s personality traits (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and momentary satisfaction with social interactions. At the meso level, Study 2 focused on romantic relationships, which become increasingly important in adolescence. Using mixed-effects location scale models, this study investigated how the interplay between neuroticism and romantic relationship variables relates to the level and variability of adolescents’ momentary affect. Finally, taking on a macro-level perspective, Study 3 used polynomial regression analyses with an information-theoretic approach for model comparison, investigating how the interplay of neuroticism and extraversion predicts loneliness cross-sectionally and over one year. Going beyond broad trait effects, the first two studies also explored the effects of corresponding, more fine-grained personality facets. Findings support the relevance of personality for adolescents’ social relationships at the micro, meso, and macro level and with respect to short- and long-term (i.e., momentary and one-year) associations. Overall, neuroticism was related to negative socio-emotional outcomes, while extraversion and agreeableness showed positive effects. Looking at underly-ing mechanisms at the micro level of social interactions, momentary perceptions of more expressive and communal behavior play an important role in the association between adoles-cents’ personality and higher momentary social satisfaction. Furthermore, this dissertation provides evidence for two kinds of more complex patterns characterizing the associations between personality and social relationships in adolescence. First, at the meso level of ado-lescents’ romantic relationships, findings provide initial evidence that neuroticism moderates the association between relationship quality and the variability of momentary positive affect. Second, at the macro-level capturing adolescents’ multiple social relationships, exponential, saturating, and interaction effects predicted individual differences in loneliness beyond the main effects of neuroticism and extraversion. The current dissertation contributes to the literature on personality and social rela-tionships in adolescence in three important ways. First, it integrates, supports, and extends central assumptions from different theoretical models on personality and social relationships. Second, as a methodological contribution, it underlines the relevance of assessing the associ-ation between personality and social relationships on different relationship levels and time-lines, applying statistical models that reflect non-linear associations and interactions, and distinguishing across personality facets and specific socio-emotional outcomes. Finally, the results of this dissertation highlight the importance of personality and related interpersonal behaviors for adolescents’ experiences in social relationships. This knowledge may be used to promote the establishment of satisfying social relationships and consequently improve well-being in adolescence. Nonetheless, to approach causal explanations, social interaction studies that also include experimental manipulations are required. In addition, future re-search needs to combine short-term with long-term measurements, which track adolescents over longer periods to further deepen our understanding of the dynamic interplay character-izing the association between personality and social relationships in adolescence.