Life history strategy as a mediator between childhood environmental unpredictability and adulthood personality

Life history (LH) theory provides a unifying perspective on understanding human behaviors as adaptive LH strategies in response to particular environmental conditions. Although several studies have examined the association between personality traits and LH strategies, there is little extant empirical literature examining how early life environmental conditions might be related to personality traits in adulthood. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between childhood environmental unpredictability, life history strategies, and the basic dimensions of personality as identified by the Five Factor Model. A total of 252 undergraduate students completed measures of childhood environmental unpredictability, a slow LH strategy, and personality. Structural equation modeling indicated that, as predicted, a slow LH strategy mediated the association between childhood environmental unpredictability and five personality traits. These results define the evolutionary origin of personality traits. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.