Unravelling the Longitudinal Relations Between Developmental Milestones, General Psychopathology, and Personality Functioning in a Youth Clinical Sample.

Personality functioning, general psychopathology, and developmental milestones achievement are critical domains in the field of young people's mental health; however, no prior research has considered these variables jointly or examined the temporal dynamics between them. To fill these gaps, the present study aimed to investigate the longitudinal associations between the above constructs in a clinical sample of Dutch youth. 525 outpatients (72.5% women; age range: 12-26 years, M = 18.8 ± 2.83) diagnosed with different psychological difficulties were recruited from specialized mental health care services in The Netherlands. They completed self-report measures assessing personality functioning, psychopathological symptoms, and the achievement of youth-specific developmental milestones. Data were collected on three occasions within a year and modelled using a Cross-Lagged Panel Model approach. The levels of personality dysfunction, general psychopathology, and developmental milestones achievement were found to fluctuate from one wave to the other. Personality dysfunction and general psychopathology were positively interrelated at each time point, while both constructs were negatively associated with developmental milestones achievement. Importantly, difficulties achieving developmental milestones predicted a worsening in personality functioning 6 months later. This result would suggest that the achievement of developmental milestones precedes personality functioning, supporting the importance of interventions promoting age-adequate functioning in youth.

A smartphone-based intervention for young people who self-harm ('PRIMARY'): study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Self-harm in young people is a public health concern connected with severe mental health problems, such as personality pathology. Currently, there are no specific evidence-based interventions available for young people who self-harm. Therefore, we developed PRe-Intervention Monitoring of Affect and Relationships in Youth (PRIMARY), a smartphone-based intervention, co-designed by clinicians and young people with lived experience of mental ill-health. PRIMARY combines the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) with weekly report sessions. The study aims to examine the effectiveness of PRIMARY with regard to reducing self-harm, and improving emotion regulation and quality of relationships. METHODS: This study is a multicenter, parallel groups, randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the PRIMARY intervention to a waiting list control group. PRIMARY comprises 28 consecutive days of questionnaires five times each day (i.e., ESM) and four weekly report sessions. Participants will comprise 180 young people referred for treatment to the participating Dutch mental healthcare institutions and (1) are aged 12 to 25 years, and (2) engaged in ≥ 1 act of self-harm in the past year. Participants are randomly allocated to a study group after screening in a 1:1 ratio by an independent researcher using computer-generated randomization sequences with stratified block randomization by age (12 to 15 years / 16 to 25 years). Staff will conduct assessments with all participants at baseline (Wave 1), after 28 days (Wave 2), and in a subsample after 10 weeks of subsequent specialized treatment (Wave 3). The primary outcomes are self-harm, emotion regulation, and quality of relationships. Secondary outcomes include patient and clinician satisfaction. Exploratory analyses of ESM data will examine the relationship between emotions, social relationships, and self-harm. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will clarify whether an innovative smartphone-based intervention is effective for reducing self harm and improving emotion regulation and the quality of social relationships. It has the potential to fill a treatment gap of interventions specifically targeting self-harm. If proven effective, it would provide an accessible, easy-to-implement, low-cost intervention for young people. Furthermore, the ESM-data will allow detailed analyses into the processes underlying self-harm, which will contribute to theoretical knowledge regarding the behavior. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN42088538 ( https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN42088538 ), retrospectively registered on the 26th of October 2022.

A DAE perspective on the interface between adaptive and maladaptive personality development: A conceptual replication.

This study aimed to examine Dispositional, Adaptational, and Environmental (DAE) variables at the intersection of adaptive and maladaptive personality development as a conceptual replication of the DAE-model (Asendorpf & Motti-Stefanidi, European Journal of Personality, 32(3), 167-185, 2018). In a community sample of adolescents (N = 463; Mage = 13.6 years; 51% female) hypotheses-driven cross-lagged panel models were tested. Longitudinal associations between Dispositional (i.e., neuroticism, disagreeableness and unconscientiousness), Adaptational (i.e., social problems), and Environmental (i.e., perceived quality of the parent-child relationship) variables were investigated. The results partially support the DAE hypotheses. High levels of neuroticism, disagreeableness and social problems were found to predict the perceived quality of the parent-child relationship. In turn, the perceived quality of the parent-child relationship was found to predict levels of unconscientiousness and social problems. No mediation effects were found and, in contrast to DAE hypotheses, results did not indicate bidirectional influences between dispositions and adaptations. The results shed light on differential person-environment interactions that shape personality development and the importance of the perceived quality of the parent-child relationship. These findings provide insight in pathways of personality development, that may lead to personality pathology, and demonstrate the value of the DAE model as a structured guideline that provides testable hypotheses.

Emotion dysregulation in young people with borderline personality disorder: One pattern or distinct subgroups?

Emotion dysregulation is a key feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Given the heterogeneity of BPD and emotion regulation, this study sought to define subgroups among a sample of young people with BPD based on their pattern of emotion regulation abilities. Baseline data from the Monitoring Outcomes of BPD in Youth (MOBY) clinical trial were used, in which 137 young people (Mage = 19.1, SDage = 2.8; 81% female) completed the self-report Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), as a measure of emotion regulation abilities. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify subgroups, based upon response patterns on the six DERS subscales. Subsequent analysis of variance and logistic regression models were used to characterize the identified subgroups. LPA revealed three subgroups. A "low and unaware" (n = 22) subgroup, reporting the least emotion dysregulation, apart from high emotional unawareness. A "moderate and accepting" subgroup (n = 59), reporting high emotional acceptance within its own pattern, and moderate emotion dysregulation compared with the other subgroups. A "high and aware" subgroup (n = 56), reporting the highest level of emotion dysregulation, but with high emotional awareness. Some demographic, psychopathology, and functioning characteristics were associated with subgroup membership. The identification of distinct subgroups highlights the importance of considering the level of emotional awareness in the context of other regulatory abilities and suggests that therapies should not take a "one-size-fits-all" approach to emotion dysregulation. Future research should seek to replicate the identified subgroups given the relatively small sample size in the current study. In addition, examining the stability of subgroup membership and the influence upon treatment outcome will be interesting avenues for further exploration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A cross-national study on adolescent substance use: Intentions, peer substance use, and parent-adolescent communication.

This longitudinal two-wave cross-national study investigated whether intentions, friends' substance use, and parent-adolescent substance-use specific communication predict adolescent alcohol and cannabis use 1 year later, while estimating reversed links. The temporal order between these two substances was also examined. We used multi-group cross-lagged panel modeling on data from 2 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse samples: Sint Maarten (N = 350; Mage  = 14.19) and the Netherlands (N = 602; Mage  = 13.50). Results showed that in the Netherlands, cannabis use predicts more subsequent problems (alcohol use, intention to use cannabis, and affiliation with cannabis-using friends). But for Sint Maarten, alcohol use predicts more subsequent problems (cannabis use, intention to use alcohol, and affiliation with alcohol-using friends). These opposing results demonstrate that caution is warranted when generalizing results across countries.

Associations Between Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Online Self-Disclosure in Clinically Referred Youth.

Communicating online via social media has proven to facilitate disclosure of intimate topics and can therefore be helpful in the development of intimate relationships. However, for youth with borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms, it may be more difficult to know when, what, and to whom to disclose (i.e., effective disclosure) in online contacts. The authors examine associations between BPD symptoms, online self-disclosure, and ineffective online self-disclosure (e.g., regretting sharing something online). The sample consisted of 235 clinically referred youth (66.4% female), aged 12-25 years (M = 17.82, SD = 2.96). Structural equation modeling revealed that BPD symptoms were related to higher levels of same- and cross-sex online self-disclosure as well as to more ineffective online self-disclosure. There was no moderation by sex or age. This study suggests that youth with BPD symptoms are at risk for oversharing personal information, which could affect forming and maintaining intimate relationships and increases online risks.

Understanding personality pathology in a clinical sample of youth: study protocol for the longitudinal research project 'APOLO'.

INTRODUCTION: We propose that a dimensional, multilayered perspective is well suited to study maladaptive personality development in youth. Such a perspective can help understand pathways to personality pathology and contribute to its early detection. The research project 'APOLO' (a Dutch language acronym for Adolescents and their Personality Development: a Longitudinal Study) is designed based on McAdams' integrative three-layered model of personality development and assesses the interaction between dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, the narrative identity and functioning. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: APOLO is a longitudinal research project that takes place in two outpatient mental healthcare centres. Participants are youth between 12 years and 23 years and their parents. Data collection is set up to build a data set for scientific research, as well as to use the data for diagnostic assessment and systematic treatment evaluation of individual patients. Measurements are conducted half-yearly for a period of 3 years and consist of self-report and informant-report questionnaires and a semistructured interview. The included constructs fit the dimensional model of personality development: maladaptive personality traits (dispositional traits), social relations, stressful life events (characteristic adaptations), a turning point (narrative identity) and functioning (eg, achievement of youth specific milestones). Primary research questions will be analysed using structural equation modelling. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The results will contribute to our understanding of (the development of) personality pathology as a complex phenomenon in which both structural personality characteristics as well as unique individual adaptations and experiences play a role. Furthermore, results will give directions for early detection and timely interventions. This study has been approved by the ethical review committee of the Utrecht University Faculty for Social and Behavioural Sciences (FETC17-092). Data distribution will be anonymous and results will be disseminated via communication canals appropriate for diverse audiences. This includes both clinical and scientific conferences, papers published in national and international peer-reviewed journals and (social) media platforms.

Borderline personality disorder in young people: associations with support and negative interactions in relationships with mothers and a best friend.

BACKGROUND: Impaired interpersonal functioning has been highlighted as a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Adolescence and young adulthood form important developmental stages within both the emergence of BPD and the development of interpersonal functioning, which takes place mostly in relationships with parents and friends. This study aimed to: (i) investigate relations between BPD symptoms and both supportive and negative interactions with mothers and best friends; (ii) investigate whether the relations were moderated by age; (iii) test the robustness of our findings by comparing the results based on self-reports with results from a subsample in which supportive and negative interactions with mothers were rated by the mother. METHODS: 312 young people referred to mental healthcare completed self-report measures on BPD and supportive and negative interactions. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relations between BPD features and perceived supportive and negative interactions with mothers and a best friend, and to investigate whether these relations were moderated by age. Robustness of our findings was studied in a subsample (n = 104), by using a multi-informant design in maternal report on supportive and negative interactions with mothers. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that negative interactions with mothers as well as with a best friend were related to more BPD symptoms in young people. Supportive interactions were not related to BPD symptoms. Both BPD and quality of relations were not related to age. In a subsample in which supportive and negative interactions with mothers were rated by the mother, the maternal report showed slightly different results. In this model, both supportive and negative interactions with a best friend were positively related, whereas interactions with mothers were not related to BPD symptoms in young people. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the importance of relationships with mothers and a best friend during adolescence and young adulthood. Given that BPD often emerges during this developmental phase, future research is needed to clarify how quality of relationships could alter pathways toward BPD in young people. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.

Advancing scientific integrity, transparency, and openness in child development research: Challenges and possible solutions.

Based on the recommendations of a Task Force on Scientific Integrity and Openness it appointed, the Governing Council of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) adopted a Policy on Scientific Integrity and Openness (SRCD, 2019a) and accompanying Author Guidelines on Scientific Integrity and Openness for Publishing in Child Development (SRCD, 2019b). Here we discuss some of the challenges associated with realizing SRCD's vision for a science of child development that is open, transparent, robust, impactful, and conducted with the highest standards of integrity. In identifying the challenges-protecting participants and researchers from harm, respecting diversity, and balancing the benefits of change with the costs -we also offer constructive solutions.

The Big Five Inventory-2: Replication of Psychometric Properties in a Dutch Adaptation and First Evidence for the Discriminant Predictive Validity of the Facet Scales [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text].

This series of studies investigated whether the good psychometric properties of the English version of the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) could be replicated using its Dutch adaptation. Second, it aimed to further examine the predictive validity of both the Big Five domain and the more specific facet scales of the BFI-2 in a large and representative sample. Results indicated that the structure found in the English version was replicated in the Dutch adaptation. The 60-item BFI-2 was reliable at the level of both domains and facets, as were the abbreviated versions. In terms of validity, the domain scales predicted a broad range of criteria. Examination of preregistered hypotheses regarding the discriminant validity of the facets indicated that experts were able to predict which facets would be most strongly associated with specific criteria. Overall, results confirm the strong psychometric properties of the BFI-2 Big Five domain scales and indicate that theoretically identified facets can be more valid predictors of criteria than other facets of the same domain.

Is the Peer Presence Effect on Heightened Adolescent Risky Decision-Making only Present in Males?

Social neurodevelopmental imbalance models posit that peer presence causes heightened adolescent risk-taking particularly during early adolescence. Evolutionary theory suggests that these effects would be most pronounced in males. However, the small but growing number of experimental studies on peer presence effects in adolescent risky decision-making showed mixed findings, and the vast majority of such studies did not test for the above-described gender and adolescent phase moderation effects. Moreover, most of those studies did not assess the criterion validity of the employed risky decision-making tasks. The current study was designed to investigate the abovementioned hypotheses among a sample of 327 ethnically-diverse Dutch early and mid-adolescents (49.80% female; Mage = 13.61). No main effect of peer presence on the employed risky-decision making task (i.e., the stoplight game) was found. However, the results showed a gender by peer presence moderation effect. Namely, whereas boys and girls engaged in equal levels of risks when they completed the stoplight game alone, boys engaged in more risk-taking than girls when they completed this task together with two same-sex peers. In contrast, adolescent phase did not moderate peer presence effects on risk-taking. Finally, the results showed that performance on the stoplight game predicted self-reported real-world risky traffic behavior, alcohol use and delinquency. Taken together, using a validated task, the present findings demonstrate that individual differences (i.e., gender) can determine whether the social environment (i.e., peer presence) affect risk-taking in early- and mid-adolescents. The finding that performance on a laboratory risky decision-making task can perhaps help identify adolescents that are vulnerable to diverse types of heightened risk behaviors is an important finding for science as well as prevention and intervention efforts.

Unique predictive power of other-rated personality: An 18-year longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: What is gained by having others report on one's personality? Research on adult samples has suggested that informant reports are especially informative regarding traits that are highly visible and evaluative (i.e., socially desirable/undesirable instead of neutral), such as Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. This 18-year longitudinal study aims to demonstrate the unique predictive power of other-rated personality in adolescence, using life outcomes and personality in adulthood as trait criteria. METHOD: We examined the unique predictive power of self- and other-rated Big Five personality traits at age 12 and 17 on self-rated life outcomes and personality at age 29 (e.g., educational achievement, work income, depression, moral transgressions, and relationship satisfaction). Participants were 186 German adolescents (53% boys), their parents and friends at age 12, and their mothers and fathers at age 17. RESULTS: Other-ratings showed unique predictive power beyond self-ratings for all Big Five traits, with the most consistent results for Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate the added value of including other-reports on adolescent personality when predicting future life outcomes and personality, especially for highly visible and evaluative traits. The present study sheds light on the predictive power of self- versus other-rated personality and personality-outcome associations.

Linking emotional reactivity "for better and for worse" to differential susceptibility to parenting among kindergartners.

This study used a combination of microlevel observation data and longitudinal questionnaire data to study the relationship between differential reactivity and differential susceptibility, guided by three questions: (a) Does a subset of children exist that is both more likely to respond with increasingly negative emotions to increasingly negative emotions of mothers and with increasingly positive emotions to increasingly positive emotions of mothers ("emotional reactivity")? (b) Is emotional reactivity associated with temperament markers and rearing environment? (c) Are children who show high emotional reactivity "for better and for worse" also more susceptible to parenting predicting child behavior across a year? A total of 144 Dutch children (45.3% girls) aged four to six participated. Latent profile analyses revealed a group of average reactive children (87%) and a group that was emotionally reactive "for better and for worse" (13%). Highly reactive children scored higher on surgency and received lower levels of negative parenting. Finally, associations of negative and positive parenting with externalizing and prosocial behavior were similar (and nonsignificant) for highly reactive children and average reactive children. The findings suggest that children who are emotionally reactive "for better and for worse" within parent-child interactions are not necessarily more susceptible to parenting on a developmental time scale.

Differentiating BPD in adolescents with NSSI disorder: the role of adverse childhood experiences and current social relationships.

BACKGROUND: As borderline personality disorder (BPD) is increasingly considered a lifespan developmental disorder, we need to focus on risk factors and precursors in the developmental pathways to BPD, in order to enable early detection and intervention. Within this developmental pathway, adolescence is a crucial phase in the light of the manifestation of the disorder. Relational factors such as adverse childhood experiences and current relational problems can be considered important in adolescents who are at-risk for BPD. Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a key precursor for adolescent BPD and one of the most promising targets for early detection and intervention of BPD. METHODS: In a clinical sample of 152 adolescents engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) disorder referred to mental healthcare in Germany, this study investigated whether we can differentiate who has BPD from 1) adverse childhood experiences; and 2) the quality of current relationships, both with parents and peers. BPD was assessed both categorically as a dichotomized score and dimensionally as a continuous score. RESULTS: More adverse childhood experiences, but not low quality of current social relationships, were related to more BPD symptoms and an increased risk for meeting full criteria for BPD. In the dimensional model, current social relationship quality with parents and peers did not show a moderating (protecting or aggravating) effect on the association between adverse childhood experiences and BPD. Using a categorical approach, however, the association between childhood adversity and meeting full criteria for BPD was higher in individuals reporting higher quality of current parent-child relationship. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight adverse childhood experiences as risk factors of BPD, while the role of current social relationships seems more complex.

The Relative Roles of Peer and Parent Predictors in Minor Adolescent Delinquency: Exploring Gender and Adolescent Phase Differences.

Social learning theories assume that delinquent peer norms and/or peer pressure are the components of delinquent peer socialization that lead to subsequent adolescent delinquency. However, these specific peer influences are rarely investigated. Moreover, social learning theories such as coercion theory posit that parenting behaviors also play an important role in the development or prevention of delinquency. However, surprisingly, little research has investigated whether parent behaviors could moderate the link between the above-described peer influences and adolescent delinquency. Hence, using structural equation modeling, the current 1-year longitudinal study investigated these questions among ethnically-diverse Dutch adolescents (N = 602; M age = 13.50; 46.42% female at baseline), who were mostly between12 and 15 years old. Additionally, using multi-group models, and a stringent p-value of p < 0.01, we explored whether gender and adolescent phase (i.e., early versus middle adolescence) further moderated these links. The majority of the analyses, resulted in non-significant findings. Specifically, in our non-multi group model, we found no significant peer, and family effects for the entire sample. However, for our multi-group models, we found that higher levels of negative mother-adolescent relationship quality exacerbated the link between peer pressure and subsequent early adolescent boys' delinquency 1 year later, while low levels of mother-adolescent negative relationship quality reversed the association. That is, low levels of mother-adolescent negative relationship quality attenuated the link from higher levels of peer pressure to higher levels of delinquency, but only in early adolescent boys. These findings existed above and beyond significant links from prior adolescent delinquency (T1) to future adolescent delinquency (T2). To conclude, although this was not the case for most adolescents, for early adolescent boys fewer negative interactions between mother and adolescents at an earlier time point (in advance) could potentially curtail the negative effects that delinquent peer pressure has on delinquency in the future. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Minority stress, perceived burdensomeness, and depressive symptoms among sexual minority youth.

Although studies have shown links between minority stress and mental health (e.g., Meyer, 2003), there is little research explaining this association. Research has suggested that adequate coping skills might protect youth from the negative impact of stress (Compas et al., 2017). Thus, we aimed to examine: 1) whether associations between minority stress and depressive symptoms occurred through mechanisms of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and 2) whether these associations were dependent on level of problem-solving coping (moderated mediation). Using an online survey of 267 sexual minority youth from the Netherlands (16-22 years; 28.8% male), the results show an indirect relationship of sexual orientation victimization and internalized homophobia with depressive symptoms occurring through perceived burdensomeness; for both males and females. Problem-solving coping skills did not significantly moderate the aforementioned indirect relationships. These results have implications for prevention and intervention work that currently focuses on social isolation rather than perceived burdensomeness.

Sensory processing sensitivity as a marker of differential susceptibility to parenting.

In this longitudinal multiinformant study negative emotionality and sensory processing sensitivity were compared as susceptibility markers among kindergartners. Participating children (N = 264, 52.9% boys) were Dutch kindergartners (Mage = 4.77, SD = 0.60), followed across three waves, spaced seven months apart. Results show that associations between parenting and child behavior did not depend on children's negative emotionality. Sensory processing sensitivity, however, interacted with both (changes in) negative and (changes in) positive parenting in predicting externalizing, but not prosocial, behavior. Depending on the interaction, vantage sensitivity and differential susceptibility models were supported. The findings suggest that sensory processing sensitivity may be a more proximal correlate of individual differences in susceptibility, compared with negative emotionality. (PsycINFO Database Record

Self-control, parenting, and problem behavior in early childhood: A multi-method, multi-informant study.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood self-control and parenting are suggested to play key roles in the development of child problem behavior. The current study aims to 1) replicate earlier work by examining the unique and combined effects of child self-control and parenting on child problem behavior and 2) extend earlier work by including both mother and father reports. METHODS: Data were used from 107 Dutch families: mothers, fathers, and their two-year old child. Child self-control was measured using both father's and mother's reports of effortful control and with an observed behavioral task (i.e., gift-in-bag task). Similarly, parenting (i.e., emotional availability and discipline) and child problem behavior (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) were measured by using both father's and mother's reports. RESULTS: Child self-control reported by fathers and mothers, but not observed self-control, was related to fewer externalizing and (mother-reported) internalizing problems. Paternal emotional availability showed a modest association with fewer child externalizing problems, maternal emotional availability was related to fewer internalizing problems. Finally, there was an interaction between father- (but not mother) reported self-control and paternal emotional availability in the prediction of child internalizing problems. No main or interaction effect was revealed for discipline. CONCLUSION: Findings confirm prior work on self-control, parenting, and child problem behavior. Most importantly however, the current study adds to the literature by highlighting the need for additional research including maternal as well as paternal data. Specifically, insight in the unique role of fathers may shed light on aspects of child adjustment not covered by mother reports alone.

Parental Self-Control and the Development of Male Aggression in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Test of Self-Control Theory.

A number of studies have evaluated associations between parenting practices, adolescent self-control, and adolescent antisocial behavior. Yet, few studies have examined associations between these constructs in early childhood or examined the extent to which both maternal and paternal self-control shapes them. To address these gaps, the current study utilizes longitudinal data collected on a sample of 117 Dutch boys and their parents to investigate the across time interrelationships between parental self-control, ineffective parenting, child self-control, and child aggression. The results provide evidence of an indirect association between maternal self-control and early childhood self-control through maternal ineffective parenting, an indirect association between maternal ineffective parenting and early childhood aggression through early childhood self-control, and an indirect association between maternal self-control and early childhood aggression through both maternal ineffective parenting and early childhood self-control. In contrast, paternal self-control and paternal ineffective parenting were unrelated to child self-control and child aggression. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

See me through my eyes: Adolescent-parent agreement in personality predicts later self-esteem development.

Achieving a clear view of one's personality is a challenging but crucial developmental task during adolescence, which has enduring influences. This task might be harder if significant others see individuals differently from how the adolescents see themselves. Supporting this, the looking-glass-self theory suggests that significant others constitute a social mirror into which the individual gazes to form his/her self-view. The present study was the first to longitudinally examine whether self-other agreement in personality during adolescence (i.e., self-parent and self-friend agreement at age 12 and self-mother and self-father agreement at age 17) promote self-esteem development from age 17 to 29 years (N =186, 53% boys). Results for girls consistently confirmed the hypothesized beneficial effect of self-parent agreement, while the picture was more complicated for boys. That is, for girls, self-parent agreement at age 12 and age 17 both predicted steeper increases in self-esteem. For boys, steeper self-esteem development was predicted by higher self-parent agreement at age 12, but unexpectedly, also by lower self-parent agreement at age 17. All these results remained after controlling for (self-rated) personality. Moreover, self-friend agreement did not show any effects on self-esteem development, suggesting that the influence of peers' convergence with self-views during early adolescence may not be as prominent as parents'. Results are discussed from the perspective of self-view formation and maintenance during adolescence and young adulthood. The present study sheds light on the longitudinal effect of one's own view of personality being shared by important others on self-esteem development.