The interaction between a temperament profile (four groups determined by high vs. low resistance to control [unmanageability] and unadaptability [novelty distress]) and family stress in predicting externalizing problems at school in children followed from kindergarten through eighth grade (ages 5-13) was investigated. The sample consisted of 556…

The relations of parenting and temperament (effortful control and anger/frustration) to children's externalizing problems were examined in a 3.8-year longitudinal study of 425 native Chinese children (6-9 years) from Beijing. Children's experience of negative life events and coping efficacy were examined as mediators in the parenting- and…

Examined inhibitory control as a quality of temperament that contributes to internalization in toddler and preschool children. Children's internalization was observed while they were alone with prohibited objects, and in scenarios that occasioned violating standards of conduct, and were assessed using maternal reports. Found that inhibitory…

Past research provides associations between maternal parenting behaviors and characteristics such as depression and toddlers' fearful temperament. Less is known about how maternal cognitive characteristics and normal personality relate to fearful temperament. This study examined associations among the maternal cognitive characteristic of accuracy,…

Data on 11 samples of 1,012 toddlers used to construct and validate the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ) revealed that the component of negative affectivity (anger proneness and fearfulness) were independent, and item analysis suggested that shyness and other fears were independent as well. (MDM)

Observed 193 children at 4.5 years who had been classified at 4 months as high or low reactive to stimulation for signs of inhibited or uninhibited behavior. Children classified as high reactive were less spontaneous and less sociable than low-reactive children, but only a small proportion maintained a consistently inhibited or uninhibited…

Examined behavioral inhibition and psychophysiological markers of frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry for children identified at 4 months as at-risk for later inhibition. Found that 4-month temperament predicted inhibition over first 2 years and behavioral reticence at 4. Infants remaining inhibited displayed EEG asymmetry as early as 9…

Attachment status of children exposed in utero to cocaine, opiates, and other substances was examined at 18 months (n=860) and 36 months (n=732) corrected age. Children exposed to cocaine and opiates had slightly lower rates of attachment security (but not disorganization), and their insecurity was skewed toward ambivalent, rather than avoidant,…

Studied whether behavioral styles at age 3 are linked to personality traits at age 18 after identifying 5 temperament groups (undercontrolled, inhibited, confident, reserved, and well-adjusted). Results pointed to continuities across time. (DR)

Assessed relationships between early temperament and behavior problems in a longitudinal study of 850 children from age 3 to 15. Temperament dimensions at ages 3 and 5 were correlated in theoretically coherent ways with behavior problems that were independently evaluated by parents and teachers at ages 9 and 11 and by parents as ages 13 and 15.…

Evaluated a conceptual model that links temperament, emotional knowledge, and family expressiveness to preschoolers' emotional regulation ability by giving "disappointing" prizes after a task. Subjects were 82 preschoolers. Found that children's positive displays when presented the disappointing prize were inversely related to the…

Used prospective longitudinal design to ascertain whether different types of behavioral inhibition were stable from toddler to preschool age, and whether inhibited temperament or parenting style predicted children's subsequent social/behavioral problems. Found that traditional and peer-social toddler inhibition predicted socially reticent behavior…

Investigated the development of inattentiveness and hyperactivity in middle childhood through a prospective study that followed 191 children from birth through age 11. In early childhood, quality of caregiving better predicted distractibility, an early precursor of hyperactivity, than did early biological or temperament factors. Caregiving and…