Fear and Courage in Children: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

This study further investigated the construct of courage in children. Children aged 8–13 years (n = 51) were interviewed about the most courageous action that they had ever performed during their life, and to retrospectively rate their level of fear and courage experienced during that event. On a separate occasion, children also completed the Courage Measure for Children (CM-C) as an index of children’s general level of personal courage, as well as scales for assessing anxiety symptoms and sensation seeking. Results indicated that almost all children (i.e., 94%) indicated that they had carried out a courageous action at some point during their life, although the levels of fear and courage associated with these acts varied considerably. Further, there was no relation between fear and courage reported for the courageous action, but these variables were significantly correlated with respectively anxiety symptoms and personal courage as indexed by the CM-C. Finally, a significant positive correlation was observed between sensation seeking and personal courage, indicating that children who are more thrill and adventure seeking are generally also more courageous. It is concluded that fear and courage in children are largely unrelated and not just two sides of the same coin. The implications of these results for the etiology and treatment of childhood anxiety problems are discussed

“You Might Belong in Gryffindor”: Children’s Courage and Its Relationships to Anxiety Symptoms, Big Five Personality Traits, and Sex Roles

This study describes a first exploration of the construct of courage in youths. Children aged 8–13 years were invited to report on the most courageous action that they had ever performed during their life. In addition, the Courage Measure for Children (CM-C) was construed as an index of children’s level of personal courage, and this scale was administered in two samples of school children (Ns being 168 and 159) along with a number of other questionnaires. Results indicated that children were familiar with the concept of courage as more than 70% reported to have carried out a courageous action during their life. In addition, self-reported courage as indexed by the CM-C was positively correlated with scores on a vignette measure of courage, parent ratings of children’s courage, extraversion, openness/intellect, and a masculine sex role, whereas a negative correlation was observed with anxiety symptoms. The implications of these findings and potential directions for future research are briefly discussed

The Dark Triad and social behavior: The influence of self-construal and power distance

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. This study examined the relationship of Dark Triad traits with interpersonal facilitation (IF) and interpersonal counterproductive work behavior (ICWB) through the mediators of independent and interdependent self-construals and power distance. Using multigroup latent variable modeling, we examined differences in this model between the United States (n = 204) and the Philippines (n = 265). Machiavellianism was unrelated to any mediators or outcomes. Narcissism was positively related to independence in both countries, and narcissism was negatively related to interdependence and positively related to power distance in the Philippines. Psychopathy was negatively related to IF in the U.S. only and positive to ICWBs in both countries. Psychopathy was negatively related to interdependence in the U.S. but positively related to interdependence in the Philippines, and positively related to power distance in the U.S. Independent and interdependent self-construal were positively related to IF and negatively related to ICWB. Power distance was negatively related to IF and positively related to ICWB. Indirect mediation relationships were also found in both countries. The findings suggest that the Dark Triad traits operate differently across the countries due in part to differences in the cultural variables of self-construal and power distance. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed