An interlocking, multimethod program of research will examine the origins and maintenance of individual differences in agreeableness in two minorities (Mexican-American & African American) and majority children and adolescents, and its links to adjustment. Agreeableness materializes with many different theoretical labels, but this dimension appears to be a general dispositional summary for processes of social valuation and attraction. Socialization patterns, both within cultures and between cultures, may be systematically related to its development, but there is little prospective scientific work on validity of assessments or underlying processes. Our goal is to continue basic, process-oriented, foundational work. The first research module will focus on reliability and convergent validity, using a computer assessment methodology to obtain self-ratings from Mexican-American, African American, and majority children and adolescents. This evidence will be compared with adult ratings of the same children for the convergent validity of agreeableness assessments. We will also use a prospective longitudinal design to follow the children and adolescents for evidence on the stability and predictive validity of agreeableness during periods of life transition. The second module focuses on specific processes linking agreeableness to emotional self-regulation. The third module links agreeableness to social Cognition. The fourth module examines interpersonal interaction. The four modules are designed to build basic empirical bridges toward an understanding of individual differences in adaptation in social environments.
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