The development of response inhibition was investigated using a computerized go/no-go task, in a lagged sequential design where 376 preschool children were assessed repeatedly between 3.0 and 5.25 years of age. Growth curve modeling was used to examine change in performance and predictors of individual differences. The most pronounced change was…

To better understand quantity and quality of divorced father contact, a weighted county sample of 230 divorced fathers with a child aged 4-11 years was employed to test whether fathers' antisocial personality (ASP) moderated effects of monthly contact with children in predicting children's observed noncompliance. Eighteen-month latent growth…

Reviews evidence on reliability and validity of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ); presents CBQ data on structure of temperament in childhood. Factor analyses indicate three broad dimensions of temperament: extroversion/surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control. This factor structure also appears in ratings of children in…

Fourth through eleventh grade students evaluated single personality trait descriptions of hypothetical persons of their own sex. Results are discussed in terms of person-perception and social desirability theories of personality. (ST)

Investigated relations between children's attributes and peer play competence among African American preschoolers attending Head Start. Identified six distinctive profiles of personal attributes linked to adaptation in social functioning. Children with highly adaptable temperaments, strong ability to approach new situations, and above average…

A total of 114 infants at three age levels (11, 18, and 28 weeks) were rated by their mothers on a termperament questionnaire and subjected to a habituation procedure. Results suggest that subject loss in habituation studies may be the result of nonrandom individual difference factors and not just the result of temporary fluctuations in state.…

Results suggest that various aspects of Strange Situation behavior are related to both maternal and infant temperament, and that maternal temperament is a predictor of attachment security, particularly for Type A mother-avoidant infants. (Author/RH)

Factor scores from Bayley's Infant Behavior Record (obtained from 300 to 400 infants at six, 12, 18, and 24 months) were selected to represent three aspects of infant behavior: task orientation, test affect-extraversion, and activity. Findings indicate reordering of individual differences is age-related and that the reordering sequence is somewhat…

Explored relation between temperament and cardiac vagal tone in 12-week olds. Found that infants with higher baseline vagal tone showed fewer negative behaviors in the laboratory and were less disrupted by experimental procedures than infants with lower baselines. Infants who decreased cardiac vagal tone during assessments were rated by mothers as…

Investigated continuities in mother-infant interaction observed at home, maternally perceived infant difficulties, and infant developmental competency. Also assessed were background characteristics and possible variables moderating maternal report of satisfaction with adjustment. A total of 128 dyads were assessed when infants were 6 and 13 months…

Explored the roles of genes and environment in masculinity and femininity during pre- and early adolescence in 70 twins of 8-14 years. Results revealed significant genetic influences in all measures. Environmental influences were specific to each individual and not shared by members of the same twin pair. (RJC)

Examined (1) the possibility that children organize general statements into meaningful and consistent psychological concepts of themselves; (2) individual differences revealed in these concepts; (3) the possibility that these differences show stability over a one-month period. (PCB)

Findings indicated a significant interaction between activity level and intensity of stimulation in predicting exploratory competence and total exploration among 52 toddlers of 15 months of age who were observed in their homes 6 times over a 4-week period. (RH)

Assessments of temperament, emotion, cognition, and language acquisition were obtained for 200 pairs of 14-month-old twins. Comparisons between the assessment correlations for identical and fraternal twins indicated an influence of genetics on inhibition, activity, temperament, empathy, negative emotion, spatial memory, categorization skills, and…

Developmental change in self-esteem was assessed from early adolescence through early adulthood. Found that males tended to increase and females to decrease in self-esteem over time and that there was rank order consistency in self-esteem over time. Within each gender, individuals' differences in developmental trajectories were related to…