Early Maternal Affection Shapes Key Personality Traits for Life

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Summary: Affectionate mothering in early childhood may play a lasting role in shaping personality traits that influence educational, professional, and health outcomes. A study of over 2,200 identical twins found that maternal warmth between ages 5 and 10 predicted higher levels of openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness at age 18.

These traits are closely tied to long-term success and well-being, suggesting even modest improvements in parenting could have widespread societal benefits. The research also emphasizes that personality development is shaped by a complex interplay of genetics, parenting, and life experiences.

Key Facts:

  • Parenting Matters: Maternal warmth predicted increased openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness in adulthood.
  • Twin Study Design: Researchers used identical twins to control for genetic and shared environmental factors.
  • Population Impact: Boosting affectionate parenting may improve educational, economic, and health outcomes at scale.

Source: APA

Affectionate mothering in childhood may have a lasting impact on important personality traits, potentially influencing life outcomes such as educational achievement, economic success, and health and well-being, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

The findings suggest that positive maternal parenting could foster important traits such as openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness.

Credit: Neuroscience News

“Personality traits are strong predictors of important life outcomes, from academic and career success to health and well-being,” said Jasmin Wertz, PhD, lead author of the study and a professor of psychology at the University of Edinburgh.

“Our findings suggest that fostering positive parenting environments in early childhood could have a small but significant and lasting impact on the development of these crucial personality traits.”

Wertz and her colleagues examined how maternal affection during childhood—specifically between the ages of 5 and 10—predicted the Big Five personality traits at age 18.

The Big Five personality traits are viewed by personality psychologists as the five basic dimensions of human personality: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism, or emotional stability.

The research was published in the journal American Psychologist.

Researchers examined data from 2,232 British identical twins (51.1% female) who were followed from birth through age 18 as part of the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twins Study.

Studying identical twins allows researchers to control for genetic and environmental factors by comparing identical twins who grew up in the same family.

During the study, researchers conducted home visits with the twins’ mothers and recorded them talking about each of their children. Trained observers then rated the mothers’ responses for warmth and affection.

This shows a mom and child.
Researchers found no lasting associations between maternal affection and extraversion or neuroticism. Credit: Neuroscience News

Twins whose mothers expressed more warmth toward them in childhood were rated as more open, conscientious and agreeable as young adults. 

The results offer evidence that positive, affectionate mothering can affect key personality traits that are linked to success later in life, and these influences could have an impact across generations, said Wertz.

The researchers note that even modest changes in personality could lead to significant population-wide benefits over time, particularly in promoting conscientiousness, which is strongly associated with success in education, work and health.

Researchers found no lasting associations between maternal affection and extraversion or neuroticism.

These findings suggest that other environmental or genetic factors—such as peer relationships, life experiences, and perhaps later interventions—may be more influential for these in adulthood.

The findings also underscore the importance of considering both genetic and environmental factors when designing programs aimed at promoting positive personality traits, according to Wertz.

“This research provides valuable evidence for the potential of parenting programs to influence critical aspects of personality development,” she said.

“However, it also highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of how different factors, including genetics, parenting and life experiences, interact to shape who we are.”

Wertz believes the research provides important practical considerations for policymakers and practitioners working in education, family welfare and mental health.

Given that conscientiousness may predict success in school and the workplace, interventions designed to enhance affectionate parenting could contribute to improving educational outcomes, mental health and social well-being on a broader scale. 

“There are many proven ways to support parents, such as policies that improve a family’s financial situation; access to treatment for parents who struggle with mental health problems such as depression; and parenting programs that help parents build stronger relationships with their children,” she said.

The research also sheds light on the possibility of developing parental training models to address inequalities in personality development.

“By targeting parenting practices that promote positive traits in childhood, it may be possible to reduce disparities in life outcomes associated with socioeconomic background, family dynamics and other environmental factors,” Wertz said.

About this neurodevelopment research news

Author: James Sliwa
Source: APA
Contact: James Sliwa – APA
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
“Parenting in Childhood Predicts Personality in Early Adulthood: A Longitudinal Twin-Differences Study” by Jasmin Wertz et al. American Psychologist

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6 Comments

  1. I had a very abusive mother both physically and emotionally. I have CPTSD from the experience. What an awful mother she was.

    Reply

  2. As a teenager from the Caribbean, this is actually heartwarming to see. I am struggling with my emotional stability and growth, steaming impact from childhood imbalances from relatives (arguments, yelling, discord) that deeply affected me. Now i am struggling to remain emotionally grounded and supported; holding everything together inside of me.

    Reply

  3. Another nature vs nurture piece. I am one of the rare examples of ‘nature.’ My gentle kindness, supportive positivity and inner joy were things I had to discover and cultivate on my own.

    Reply

  4. Yes-maternal warmth is SZo important. I have a friend who lives in the inner city. What she sees is shocking: mothers yelling at young children endlessly, ignoring their children. The mothers are impatient and incapable of the most fundamental kindness. They humiliate their children by ignoring them.
    Young children thrive on attention-it is a food they must have-not a bother. Yes-u also see this with mothers who are overly busy. We need to train mothers as to how to parent. Mothers are crucial in the home and in society.

    Reply

  5. I can see where this study has some merit from a personal perspective. My mother, during those years, was an alcoholic, worked all the time, wasn’t usually at home, and seemed focused on trying to build a better life through either her accomplishments or relationships with other people that we tended to be neglected. Part of her guilt related to her lifestyle choices and how she chose to interact with us led her to not be a firm disciplinarian, which resulted in us being pretty wild.

    But deeper than that, it affected my self-confidence and how I viewed my self-worth and influenced how I displayed affection. I’m not a hugger and feel uncomfortable with open, apparent signs of affection. Of course, this can easily be routed back to confidence and self-worth.

    I became a mother at 19. All I could think about during my pregnancy was what would be best for my daughter. Knowing and experiencing many of the common crueler things in this world. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my childhood and my estranged relationship with my parents. I knew I didn’t want that for my child or any future children. This wasn’t an, I’ll never be like my parents’ scenario. It’s more of a; I’ll give them hugs, love, respect, reasoning, and set the example.

    Being an adult or their parent doesn’t make me better than my children, and I am not entitled to their love, respect, loyalty, or obedience.

    Like any other human being, those traits are earned, usually over time and through experience, and the same should be said for children. Since children are not independent from birth, they rely on their parents to provide the knowledge and examples that help them develop those traits.

    I don’t know about you, but statements such as the following have little merit to me:
    “Do as I say, not as I do,” ” Speak when spoken to, “Because I said so, “Just do it,” ” Because I’m an adult,” ” Because I know Best,” ” Because I’m older than you,” ” Because I’m your elder,” etc.

    In response to those statements, you show me that your actions are wrong. You’re telling me that I should never speak up if I feel there is Injustice. You’re not explaining why something should or should not occur. You’re not giving me a chance or explaining the reasoning, experience, or understanding behind an action or a choice. Being an adult does not make you entitled or automatically a guru on all things in life. I’ve known a lot of adults who are quite idiotic and make terrible life choices. And being older again doesn’t mean the reasoning or decision behind things is sound, logical, or based on a valid experience.

    Though I digress, my point is that teaching the foundations of life experience—the what, the why, and the how—is essential in earning and maintaining love, loyalty, trust, and respect.

    Following that line of thought, my mother earned very little of each of the traits listed above during my childhood.

    So, with my children, I went against the grain of my upbringing and my comfort levels regarding affection and understanding. Since my children are 10 years apart, it’s more apparent to my daughter now how intensely affectionate I am with them in their younger years and how that tends to change as they age. The open, warm affection I show my 5-year-old is fun, light-hearted, and compassionate. On the other hand, the affection I show my 15-year-old comes more from respect, camaraderie, and understanding. My 15-year-old does sometimes get jealous of the 5-year-old, so in response, I’ve added back some of that warm, fun, and light-hearted affection. Which for me is a struggle, not for lack of caring for my children, but because showing that type of affection to an older individual goes against my very nature and makes me feel vulnerable in a way I haven’t since I was a young child.

    However, I couldn’t control my daughter’s father’s interactions with her as a parent. He has an egotistical, entitled, domineering type of parenting style. He treated my daughter as if she should be seen and not heard. He tried to raise her so that she would do everything in her power to fit in with the current status quo, including but not limited to how she dressed, her weight, her interests, what she ate, and how she acted. This impacted her view of self and has led to unnecessary struggles in her life. Without any influence from me, it reached the point where the example he set was one of lies, violence, bigotry, and betrayal. Seeing that nature in her father, I think, helps debunk some of the self-worth issues that he inflicted on her through his actions.

    Regardless, I know my daughter is only 15, and her interpersonal interactions with adults and her friends are drastically different from mine at that age. She shows a level of compassion and understanding with some brutal honesty that I never expressed. She’s more willing to stand up for personal injustices instead of taking whatever the world throws at her. She listens with a heart and a head that understands or wants to understand and is willing to ask questions. She respects her elders but will question things that don’t make sense or seem unreasonable, not out of a place of belligerence but understanding. She has clear goals for herself and her future and is making choices and plans to obtain that future.

    As far as teenagers go, I couldn’t be more blessed. Most of the adults on all three sides (she has an ex-stepmother of 11 years who was there from the time she was born and is still involved today) of her family speak highly of her compassion, understanding, and respectfulness. Friends of mine and her other parents who have their own teenagers are also surprised by her.

    The only things she seems to crave from me are acknowledgment, understanding, occasional guidance, and affection.

    Personally, there’s still a small part of me waiting for her to stomp her foot, tell me she hates me, and run out of the house. I’m also kind of waiting for that phone call from the police or another parent that my daughter is drunk or passed out at their home. Maybe I’m waiting for the phone call from school because my daughter decided to skip for a whole week and never told me anything about it. Maybe there’s a small tiny shred of me wondering if she’s going to steal my alcohol or my medication and do something stupid. Mentally, I’m perfectly prepared for those situations because I was that person all by the time I was her age.

    All I ever wanted was for her to be better than me and to have a better life than I did. And though there’s still plenty of opportunity for it to go wrong, she’s made it halfway to where I am and done a hell of a lot better than I ever did. Color me impressed.

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