Family Resilience As a Protective Factor for Early Childhood Personality Development: A Latent Profile Analysis of Urban Chinese Preschoolers

Background Children's early traits significantly shape their long-term social and emotional development, yet relatively little is known about how these traits cluster and how family resilience factors influence such profiles. Prior studies have explored personality and temperament in early childhood, but limited empirical evidence exists regarding how these traits are grouped and influenced by family-level resilience indicators in urban Chinese settings. This study addresses two research questions: (1) What are the distinct profiles of early childhood traits among urban Chinese children aged 3 to 6? (2) How do various dimensions of family resilience predict children's membership in different trait profiles?

Methods This study utilizes data from the Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey (SUNS), a city-wide representative survey conducted in Shanghai between 2016 and 2017. Childhood traits were measured for children aged 3 to 6 using 5 items adopted from the Positive Behavior Scale (PBS; Polit, 1998) and the Pictorial Personality Traits Questionnaire for Children (PPTQ-C; Maćkiewicz & Cieciuch, 2016), capturing conscientiousness, optimism, extraversion, agreeableness, and autonomy. Family resilience was assessed across six dimensions: family functioning (12-item McMaster Family Functioning Scale; Boterhoven et al., 2015), life satisfaction (5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale; Diener, 1985), housing satisfaction, community satisfaction, parental depression (10 items from the Hopkins Symptom Checklist; Derogatis, 2000), and financial indicators (family income and both parents' employment status). Covariates included demographic characteristics of children and parents. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted using Mplus 8.4 to identify trait profiles, followed by a three-step approach to examine the influence of family resilience on profile membership (Nylund et al., 2007).

Results Three distinct child trait profiles emerged: (1) Low Popularity & Multi-Domain Distinctive Group (19.1%), characterized by low levels across all five traits, especially peer popularity; (2) Balanced & Adaptive Group (55.7%), average levels on all traits with slightly lower optimism; and (3) Social & Popular Group (25.2%), high scores on all traits, particularly peer popularity. Family resilience significantly predicted profile membership. Stronger family functioning was associated with increased likelihood of membership in the Social & Popular group rather than the other two (OR = .83–.86, p < .001). No significant effects were identified for housing satisfaction, community satisfaction, parental depression, or financial factors. Higher parental depression and family education levels were positively associated with membership in the Low Popularity & Multi-Domain Distinctive Group.

Conclusion and Implications This study contributes to the literature by identifying three nuanced trait profiles in early childhood and highlighting how different aspects of family resilience shape children's developmental trajectories in urban China. Family functioning, community satisfaction, and parental mental health emerged as critical influences on child traits. Findings suggest the need for multifaceted family-level interventions that strengthen both structural (e.g., housing and financial stability) and psychosocial (e.g., emotional support and mental health) resources to foster adaptive trait development. Culturally responsive, family-centered programs may promote early social-emotional competencies and long-term well-being.