As just noted, researchers have traditionally viewed personality as static traits that are modeled as etiological correlates of problematic alcohol involvement rather than dynamic constructs that exhibit both change and stability across time and may influence or be influenced by problematic alcohol involvement (Sher et al., 2005; Sher, Trull, Bartholow, & Vieth, 1999). It remains unclear how changes in problematic alcohol involvement relate to changes in personality, especially with regard to individual differences in change. Although common mean-level trends for decreased alcohol use and changes in personality linked to maturity during emerging adulthood exist, there is variability in the respective course of these variables. For example, some individuals continue to drink at elevated or increasing levels into middle adulthood and beyond (Fillmore, 1988). Furthermore, research indicates that a statistically significant percentage of individuals exhibit personality change in the opposite direction (i.e., nonnormative change) compared with the overall sample (Robins, Fraley, Roberts, & Trzesniewski, 2001).
