Sophia is only 5 years old, but she’s got an adult-sized
problem. She is frequently overcome by negative
emotions—sadness, fear, anger, worry, or shame. Is this little
girl headed for a lifetime of emotional struggles – perhaps even
a major bout of depression? It’s possible. We know that certain
personality traits are quite stable over time, and some
personality traits put you at greater risk for moodiness, worry,
and depression. But that doesn’t mean Sophia has an inevitable
destiny. Children can learn how to better manage their moods.
And parents can help them learn. The key? Teaching kids to avoid
ruminating on upsetting past events…and to view their bad
memories in a new light. A new study hints at this. Researcher
Ekaterina Denkova and her colleagues interviewed 71 young adults
and evaluated their personality traits, focusing on the “big
five” personality factors — conscientiousness, agreeableness,
extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to new experience. The
researchers also asked people to recall emot