stubbornness

dreamlogic

I have been thinking lately about the nature of stubborness as a personality trait or behaviour.

There are times when it could be seen to be a healthy thing or a correct way to behave. Like for example when two people in a long term relationship split; one person tries to contact the other numerous times, the other ignores them and moves on with their lives.

But are there other circumstances in which it is an unhealthy behaviour?
For example in a family relationship(siblings, parents, children etc)?
For example two people who have been emotionally close all their lives(but not always in the friendship sense of 'close') have a falling out or there are a series of fallings out. One person who feels especially hurt or betrayed by the other person cuts all contact with them ignoring their numerous phonecalls etc. Several years pass and the person who is being ignored dies suddenly. The person who has been stubborn suffers a terrible remorse and guilt when they learn of this news. The other person had been in their thoughts throughout this time but for whatever reason they just couldn't bring themselves to meet with them and try to start a new chapter.
Any thoughts on this? Or on stubbornness between family members in general?

Also I wonder does stubbornness worsen with age? Leaving asice the fact that as time passes naturally people will age and naturally the period of non-communication will lengthen. To rephrase then, are people more likely to develop stubbornness the older they get? Or is the opposite equally likely or more likely- that people as they age begin to adopt the viewpoint that life is too short for grudges etc..
I know I am generalising but would be interested to hear your observations or opinions on this subject from a psychological/psychiatric perspective.

Thanks.

Valmont

Well in the FFM model of personality, I suppose stubborness would fall under the dimension of Agreeableness, but apart from that I'm not aware of any research exploring stubborness itself as a valid personality dimension.