The Role of HEXACO Personality Traits on Predicting Problematic and Risky Behaviors in Adolescents

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the HEXACO personality traits in predicting emotional and behavioral problems and risky behaviors in adolescents evaluated by an external observer (parent or legal guardian). To the study’s aim, 714 adolescents were recruited from seven schools in Campania (Italy), and for each adolescent, a parent (or legal guardian) was involved to obtain an indirect measure of adolescents’ behaviors. The adolescents filled out the HEXACO-Middle School Inventory (MSI), the parents answered a set of items about emotional and behavioral problems and risky behaviors in adolescents instead. The results showed that Conscientiousness is the best predictor of youth risk behaviors, Honesty-Humility and eXtraversion are the best predictors of emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents instead. These findings extend our understanding of the relationship between HEXACO personality traits and emotional/behavioral problems and risky behaviors in young people, and further highlight the utility of Honesty-Humility, a dimension not considered in the Big Five model, in individual differences research.