Home and mother: Relations with infant temperament.

Mothers of about 100 toddlers at 12, 18, and 24 months completed the Toddler Temperament Scale. Three other data sets were also available: (a) factors representing lab observations; (b) measures of the mothers who completed the Thurstone Temperament Schedule and ratings made by a social worker of the mother's home; and (c) home measures from Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment and the Family Environment Scale. Direct correlations between the first principal component factor from the Toddler Temperament Scale and the corresponding component from the lab factor were .50, .36, .52, at 12, 18, and 24 months, respectively. Maternal characteristics—emotional stability and social dominance—from the Thurstone Temperament Schedule were related to maternal ratings of the toddler on the Toddler Temperament Scale at all ages (rs?=?.25 to .46). There were only a few low-order correlations from environmental characteristics. A regression analysis, with lab factors entered first, indicated that, after the lab component was extracted, maternal temperament made a modest but significant contribution to maternal reports of toddler temperament. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment, temperament, and adrenocortical activity in infancy: A study of psychoendocrine regulation.

Examined the relations among adrenocortical stress reactivity, infant emotional or proneness-to-distress temperament, and quality of attachment in 66 infants tested at 9 and at 13 months. Performed the Louisville Temperament Assessment at 9 months and conducted the Strange Situation at 13 months. Adrenocortical activity was not associated with attachment classifications. Emotional temperament at 9 months was strongly correlated with emotional temperament at 13 months. There was also evidence that at both ages infants who were more prone to distress experienced greater increases in adrenocortical activity during the laboratory tests. Significantly, however, although both the Louisville Temperament Assessment and the Strange Situation involve maternal separation (a potent stimulant of the adrenocortical system in nonhuman primate infants), we noted only small elevations in cortisol, and these elevations were significant only at 9 months. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure and dimensions of maternal perceptions of Japanese infant temperament.

Using a new temperament inventory (the Japanese Temperament Questionnaire) developed from the free response of Japanese mothers asked to describe their infants' behavioral styles, mothers (N?=?469) rated behaviors observed in their 1-, 3-, or 6-mo-old baby. The ratings were factor analyzed and the dimensions generated by the factor analysis were labeled by an independent maternal group. Results support the conclusions that mothers' perceptions of infant temperament were both pancultural and culture specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Questionnaire d'évaluation du comportement de l'enfant: Version canadienne fran?aise du Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire.

This study was designed to validate the Questionnaire d'évaluation du comportement de l'enfant (QéCE), a French-Canadian version of the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ; Goldsmith, 1996) which is used to evaluate five dimensions of children's temperament from 15 to 36 months of age: Activity level, Pleasure, Social fearfulness, Anger proneness, Interest/persistence. A sample of 122 15-month-old children was assessed with the QéCE. Three months later (at 18 months), 106 of these children were re-assessed with the QéCE for a second time. In addition, 102 of these children had previously been assessed at 10 months with the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ, Bates et al., 1979), a questionnaire used to assess temperament during the first year of life. Results show that the QéCE scales have adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. In addition, the results show that the QéCE scales possess adequate discriminant properties and good convergent validity with the ICQ. The psychometric properties of the QéCE, the fact that it is quick and easy to administer and to score, and its capacity to provide information on several dimensions of childrens' temperament make it an interesting questionnaire to use in child development research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deriving childhood temperament measures from emotion-eliciting behavioral episodes: Scale construction and initial validation.

The authors describe the development and initial validation of a home-based version of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB), which was designed to assess childhood temperament with a comprehensive series of emotion-eliciting behavioral episodes. This article provides researchers with general guidelines for assessing specific behaviors using the Lab-TAB and for forming behavioral composites that correspond to commonly researched temperament dimensions. We used mother ratings and independent postvisit observer ratings to provide validity evidence in a community sample of 4.5-year-old children. 12 Lab-TAB behavioral episodes were employed, yielding 24 within-episode temperament components that collapsed into 9 higher level composites (Anger, Sadness, Fear, Shyness, Positive Expression, Approach, Active Engagement, Persistence, and Inhibitory Control). These dimensions of temperament are similar to those found in questionnaire-based assessments. Correlations among the 9 composites were low to moderate, suggesting relative independence. As expected, agreement between Lab-TAB measures and postvisit observer ratings was stronger than agreement between the Lab-TAB and mother questionnaire. However, for Active Engagement and Shyness, mother ratings did predict child behavior in the Lab-TAB quite well. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of emotion-eliciting temperament assessment methodologies, suggest appropriate methods for data aggregation into trait-level constructs and set some expectations for associations between Lab-TAB dimensions and the degree of cross-method convergence between the Lab-TAB and other commonly used temperament assessments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants with autism: an investigation of empathy, pretend play, joint attention, and imitation

Systematic studies of infants with autism have not been previously carried out. Taking advantage of a new prospective screening instrument for autism in infancy (S. Baron-Cohen et al., 1996), the present study found that, compared with developmentally delayed and normally developing children, 20-month-old children with autism were specifically impaired on some aspects of empathy, joint attention, and imitation. Infants with autism failed to use social gaze in the empathy and joint attention tasks. Both the infants with autism and the infants with developmental delay demonstrated functional play, but very few participants in either group produced spontaneous pretend play. In the developmental delay group, but not the autism group, pretend play was shown following prompting. The implications of these findings for developmental accounts of autism and for the early diagnosis of the disorder are discussed.     

Temperament as a predictor of behavior during initial dental examination in children

Temperament refers to children's behavioral style, or the manner in which they interact with their environment. Temperament has been quantified into nine temperament categories and five temperament constellations by Thomas and Chess. Temperament categories and constellations of children can be measured using one of several parental questionnaires, each of which focuses on age-appropriate behavior. For this study the Behavioral Style Questionnaire (BSQ) was administered to the parents of 50 healthy children (mean age 48.8 months) receiving initial dental examinations. The examinations were videotaped and The Ohio State Behavior Rating Scale (OSUBRS) was used to rate each child's behavior into one of four behavioral categories: 1) quiet; 2) crying only; 3) disruptive movement only; and 4) crying and disruptive movement. For data analysis the percentage duration of each behavioral category was calculated. Using one-way ANOVA, significant differences between constellations were found for quiet (P = 0.03) and combination behavior (P = 0.03). Using a stepwise linear regression, the temperament category of approach/withdrawal was found to predict the percentage of quiet (multiple R = 0.42357, R2 = 0.17941, and P = 0.002), crying (multiple R = 0.42124, R2 = 0.17744, and P = 0.002), and combination behaviors (multiple R = 0.30008, R2 = 0.09005, and P = 0.03). Additionally, significant regressions were found with temperament categories predicting behavioral categories depending on the child's age. The results of this pilot study suggest that the BSQ temperament constellations and categories appear to be modest predictors of a child's specific behaviors in the dental environment. Knowledge of a child's temperament may prepare the clinician to predict patient behaviors in the dental environment.     

Interaction of temperamental resistance to control and restrictive parenting in the development of externalizing behavior.

Child temperament and parental control were studied as interacting predictors of behavior outcomes in 2 longitudinal samples. In Sample 1, data were ratings of resistant temperament and observed restrictive control in infancy-toddlerhood and ratings of externalizing behavior at ages 7 to 10 years; in Sample 2, data were retrospective ratings of temperament in infancy-toddlerhood, observed restrictive control at age 5 years, and ratings of externalizing behavior at ages 7 to 11 years. Resistance more strongly related to externalizing in low-restriction groups than in high-restriction groups. This was true in both samples and for both teacher- and mother-rated outcomes. Several Temperament?×? Environment interaction effects have been reported previously, but this is one of very few replicated effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of temperament in infant twins.

Rated emotional tone, attention span, activity, cooperation, and orientation to laboratory staff during a standardized sequence of interactions between 84 1-yr-old twins and the staff. Ss' behavior was videotaped and then rated for successive 2-min periods, after which the ratings were condensed into a composite temperament profile. A factor analysis revealed 3 principal dimensions, the primary one involving positive emotional tone, sustained attention, and receptiveness to the staff. The Toddler Temperament Scale was completed by parents for each twin. Scores revealed a strong 1st factor anchored on 4 categories of temperament: adaptability, approach, attention and persistence, and positive mood. A canonical analysis performed on the factor scores from the 2 data sets showed significant continuity in the expression of temperament between home and laboratory. Results demonstrate (1) that the infant's temperament profile can be reliably detected and rated and (2) convergent validity between laboratory ratings and parents' report. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development, behaviour and temperament: a prospective study of infants conceived through in-vitro fertilization

The development, behaviour and temperament of 65 singleton infants conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and 63 matched controls were compared at 1 year postpartum. Primiparous women were recruited during pregnancy and their infants' development was assessed at 1 year. In addition, test-taking behaviour was evaluated by an examiner using the Bayley behaviour rating scale and mothers completed a behaviour problem checklist and temperament scale. Mental, motor, speech and social development were appropriate for age, with no significant group differences. While receptive language development was in the normal range, IVF infants scored lower than control infants. Across both groups, mothers reported low levels of behaviour difficulty and mean temperament ratings were in the general population range. There were no group differences in observed test-taking behaviour. However, IVF mothers rated their children at a higher level of behaviour difficulty and more reactive than the ratings given by control mothers. Overall, singleton children conceived through IVF demonstrate appropriate general development at 1 year of age. The higher reported behaviour difficulty experienced by IVF mothers may reflect their concerns about the well-being and adjustment of their child during the first year.     

Parent ratings of EAS temperaments in twins, full siblings, half siblings, and step siblings.

A twin/family design was used to explore genetic contributions to personality; to evaluate whether twins and nontwins yield different genetic results; and to test for the presence of contrast effects, the tendency of a rater to contrast one sibling with the other, thereby magnifying existing behavioral differences. The sample consisted of 708 adolescent same-sex sibling pairs from 10 to 18 years of age. Pairs included identical (monozygotic; MZ) and fraternal (dizygotic; DZ) twins, and full siblings in nondivorced families; and full, half, and unrelated siblings in stepfamilies. Mothers and fathers rated the temperament of their children on the EAS Temperament Survey (A. H. Buss & R. Plomin, 1984). Model-fitting analyses revealed significant genetic infiuences on each of the four EAS dimensions; however, for some dimensions, heritability estimates were significantly greater for twins than for nontwins. Overall, the data were best described by a sibling interaction model, which indicated significant contrast effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant temperament and cardiac vagal tone: assessments at twelve weeks of age

Sixty 12-week-old infants participated in a laboratory study to explore the relations between temperament and cardiac vagal tone. Temperament was evaluated via laboratory observations and maternal ratings. Cardiac vagal tone, measured as the amplitude of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, was quantified from beat-to-beat heart period data collected during a resting baseline period and during the laboratory assessment of temperament. Specific hypotheses were investigated relating temperament to both basal cardiac vagal tone and changes in cardiac vagal tone during social/attention challenges. Infants with higher baseline cardiac vagal tone were rated in the laboratory as showing fewer negative behaviors and were less disrupted by the experimental procedure. Infants who decreased cardiac vagal tone during the laboratory assessment were rated on maternal report temperament scales as having longer attention spans, and being more easily soothed.     

Maternal characteristics measured prenatally are predictive of ratings of temperamental "difficulty" on the Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire.

In several recent reports, the Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire has been criticized as a measure of infant temperament. Instead, the dimensions of temperament and the diagnostic categories (i.e., "easy" vs. "difficult" temperament) derived from maternal responses to the questionnaire items have been associated with maternal demographic and personality characteristics and with maternal child-rearing attitudes assessed before the birth of the infant. In this article, results of previous research are reconsidered in light of suggestions and criticisms offered by several temperament researchers. In two new studies the revision of the Infant Temperament Questionnaire (ITQ) was used to assess infant temperament, and personality and/or attitudinal data from the mother were obtained prenatally. Results were consistent across all studies. Prenatally assessed characteristics of the mother, especially anxiety, significantly distinguish mothers whose responses to the ITQ items result in diagnosis of temperamental difficulty for their infants from those whose infants are diagnosed as temperamentally easy during the first 8 months of life. The data suggest that both the original and revised Carey infant temperament scales fail discriminant validity tests and are therefore of only limited use in identifying temperamentally difficult infants. (67 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal Preconceptions About Parenting Predict Child Temperament, Maternal Sensitivity, and Children's Empathy.

This study examined the influence of maternal preconceptions on child difficult temperament at 6 months and maternal sensitivity at 12-15 months and whether all 3 variables predicted children's empathy at 21-24 months. Within a low-income, ethnically diverse sample of 175 mother-child dyads, path models were tested with 3 empathy indices (prosocial, indifference, inquisitive) as outcomes. Results indicated that maternal preconceptions significantly predicted child difficult temperament, maternal sensitivity, and children's empathy. Temperament mediated the link between maternal preconceptions and inquisitiveness, and maternal sensitivity mediated the link between preconceptions and prosocial responses. Group modeling techniques revealed no significant differences across gender or ethnicity. Correlations suggested contextual effects based on the familiarity of the person in distress. The implications and utility of developing parenting interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' ratings of the temperament characteristics of Down Syndrome infants.

Using Carey's Infant Temperament Questionnaire, mothers' ratings of temperament characteristics of 74 Down's syndrome (DS) infants (aged 4–24 mo) were obtained and compared with those in Carey's standardization sample of normal infants. The stability of the ratings over a 6-mo interval was also examined. Mothers' assessments of their DS infants' behavior did not support the stereotype that DS infants are easier, more placid, and less intense than normal infants. On 6 of the 9 temperament dimensions rated (Activity, Intensity, Mood, Adaptability, Distractibility, and Rhythmicity), no significant differences between the ratings of DS and normal infants were found. Moreover, when the DS infants were considered as members of the Carey sample, a greater percentage of DS than of normal infants were found in more difficult temperament categories. Ss scored lower than the standardization sample on the dimensions of Persistence, Approach, and Threshold. Findings are discussed in terms of qualitative differences in the development of affect in DS infants and the impact that such differences may have on caregiver–infant interactive processes and mothers' assessments of infant behavior. Finally, comparison of individual- and group-level analyses of the stability of temperament ratings revealed discrepancies that suggest the importance of distinguishing the meaning of these types of stability analyses. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrapersonal and maternal correlates of aggression, conflict, and externalizing problems in toddlers

Research has shown that 2-year-olds engage in peer-directed aggression and initiation of conflict. However, there has been little consideration of the factors associated with variability in toddlers' aggression. One hundred and four toddlers (52 females) were observed for 35 min of free play with a same-sex peer, with both mothers present. Experience in early out-of-home care was not related to aggression. Toddlers' observed and mother-rated dysregulated temperament, and mothers' use of warmth and negative dominance during interactions with their children, were used to predict toddlers' aggression and maternal ratings of externalizing difficulties. Boys were observed to be more aggressive than girls. Regression analyses showed that, after controlling for main effects, the interaction of child gender, temperament, and maternal negative dominance predicted both outcomes. Observed aggression and mother-reported externalizing problems were associated significantly with dysregulated temperament only for boys with mothers who demonstrated relatively high levels of negative dominance.     

Trajectories of externalizing behavior from age 2 to age 9: Relations with gender, temperament, ethnicity, parenting, and rater.

Trajectories of children's externalizing behavior were examined using multilevel growth curve modeling of data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. According to ratings by both mothers and caregivers/teachers when children were 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9 years old, externalizing behavior declined with age. However, mothers rated children as higher in externalizing behavior than did caregivers and teachers. Higher levels of age 9 externalizing behavior were predicted by the following factors: child male gender (for caregiver/teacher reports only), infant difficult temperament (for children with harsh mothers only), harsher maternal attitude toward discipline, higher level of maternal depression (for maternal reports only), and lower level of maternal sensitivity (especially for boys). Caregivers and teachers reported higher levels of externalizing behavior in African American children than in European American children, increasingly so over time; mothers' ratings revealed the reverse. The declining slope of externalizing behavior was predicted by infant difficult temperament for mother reports only. Additional analyses suggested that the association between parenting and externalizing behavior was bidirectional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental models of infant and childhood temperament

The developmental courses of specific temperamental constructs were explored by using structural equation model fitting. Maternal ratings were obtained from either 2 or 3 different temperament questionnaires for 180 children at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months of age. Several formal structural models were fit in infancy (3-18 months), in the toddler-preschooler period (24-48 months), and across all measurement occasions. In infancy, the autoregressive simplex model fit well for all 4 composites considered: Positive Emotionality, Distress-Anger, Fear, and Activity Level. In contrast to the considerable change in temperament during infancy, temperament appears to be very stable from 24 to 48 months of age, and a common factor model fits well with these data. Across all measurement occasions, models that allowed for stability in temperament to be at least partially mediated through intermediate forms of the trait fit best.     

Preschool temperament and performance on achievement tests.

Maternal ratings of temperament were obtained for 50 preschool children (aged 4–5 yrs) from 3 measures: the Behavioral Style Questionnaire (BSQ; S. C. McDevitt and W. B. Carey, see record 1980-00109-001); the Parent Questionnaire (PQ; A. Thomas and S. Chess, 1977); and the Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory (CCTI; D. C. Rowe and R. Plomin, see record 1978-00112-001). Intellectual achievement was measured at age 4 yrs with the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale—Third Revision, and when the Ss were in 2nd grade, with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R) and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test. Correlations between the temperament categories and achievement tests revealed that the categories Attention-Span and Persistence were significantly correlated with all 3 achievement measures. The Activity categories of the BSQ and PQ were also correlated with achievement, but this was not true for the CCTI. The differences were attributed to the types of activity sampled by 3 scales. Other significant correlations with achievement were found for Approach/Withdrawal (PQ) and Soothability (CCTI). It is concluded that a child's ability to attend to tasks and modulate behavior may be the best predictor of performance on achievement tests. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-emotional behavior of preschool-age children with and without developmental delays

Differences in parent and teacher ratings of social-emotional behavior among young children with developmental delays and those without significant developmental problems were examined. Participants included 198 preschool-age children identified as having a developmental delay (DD group) and 198 preschool-age children without significant developmental problems (Comparison group) who were matched to the DD group by age and gender, using a randomized block procedure. Parent and teacher perceptions of social-emotional behavior of the participants were assessed using the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale (PKBS), a social skills and problem behavior rating scale for the use with young children. PKBS scores were found to classify the participants into their respective groups with a substantial degree of accuracy. Statistically significant differences in social skills and problem behavior scores between the two groups were found, with the DD participants evidencing greater social skills deficits and problem behavior excesses than the Comparison group. Individuals in the DD group were found to be four to five times more likely to have significant social skills deficits and problem behavior excesses than individuals in the Comparison group. The critical social-emotional behaviors separating the two groups appeared to be social interaction and independence skills, and socially withdrawn and isolated behavior patterns. New validity evidence for the PKBS is discussed, as are future needs pertaining to research and clinical practice in the area of social-emotional behavior of young children with developmental delays.