A recent study from The Journal of Research Into Personality found that “the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints” typically grew up to be a conservative, while the “confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.”

Statistically, it's hard to make this article stand up as valid for the entire population. The study was limited to the Berkely area, which is hardly representative of the entire nation. And, as Callimachus points out at Donklephant, a person's early 20s is not necessarily the stopping point in political or personal growth (although I believe I have seen statistical studies that suggest it is for most people).

But the study does raise some interesting points about personality differences between liberals and conservatives that are interesting in these polarized times. The author of the study suggests, "“insecure kids look for the reassurance provided by tradition and authority, and find it in conservative politics. The more confident kids are eager to explore alternatives to the way things are, and find liberal politics more congenial.”

That is a big conclusion to jump to based on a single personality study. What about the childrens' parents? Were they liberal or conservative and how much of their own values did they pass on? Were they authoratative or lax in their parenting methods? Personally, I think it's an interesting topic, but it would be a tough one to tackle professionally. You can't study scatology and not expect to get covered in...well... you know.