Third, there is increasing recognition that temperament and personality are not a fixed, static set of characteristics, but rather are dynamic constructs that develop over the lifespan and change in response to maturation and life circumstances (Fraley & Roberts 2005, Rothbart & Bates 2006). For example, although the rank-order stability of most personality traits is in the moderate range, it increases over the course of development (Roberts & DelVecchio 2000). In addition, mean levels of conscientiousness and some facets of E/PE increase, and levels of N/NE decrease, over time, particularly in young adulthood (Roberts et al. 2006). A number of processes contribute to stability and change of personality. For example, genes are a major influence on stability (Krueger & Johnson 2008, Kandler et al. 2010). In addition, people often select, create, and construe environments in ways that reinforce and maintain their initial trait dispositions (Caspi & Shiner 2006). However, life stressors and major shifts in social roles and relationships can contribute to personality change (Fraley & Roberts 2005, Kandler et al. 2010). We consider the implications of these processes for the relation between personality and depression below.
