Homotypic and heterotypic continuity of fine‐grained temperament during infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood

Abstract

Longitudinal continuity was investigated for fine‐grained and factor‐level aspects of temperament measured with the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire‐Revised (IBQ‐R), Early Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire (ECBQ), and Children's Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ). Considerable homotypic continuity was found. Convergent and discriminant validity of the measures was supported, as all fine‐grained dimensions exhibited stability across adjacent measurement periods, and all scales found on both the ECBQ and CBQ were most highly correlated with their equivalent scales. At the factor level, Surgency and Negative Affect factors were stable across all time points, and Effortful Control/Regulatory Capacity was stable across adjacent time periods. High‐Intensity Pleasure, Activity Level, and Impulsivity contributed strongly to continuity of Surgency, and Sadness, Frustration, and Falling Reactivity played strong roles in the continuity of Negative Affect. Heterotypic continuity was also found. High levels of Infant Surgency predicted high toddler Effortful Control, whereas high toddler Surgency predicted low Effortful Control in preschoolers. Infant Surgency dimensions especially predicted Toddler Attention Shifting and Low‐Intensity Pleasure, and toddler Activity Level was most closely associated with later deficits in Effortful Control. Inverse relations were also obtained between Negative Affect and Effortful Control, with substantial negative connections between toddler Negative Affect and preschool Attention Focusing and Inhibitory Control. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prenatal maternal depression and child serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) genotype predict negative emotionality from 3 to 36 months

“…It contains 11 scales that are similar in form to the IBQ-R (Garstein & Rothbart, 2003;Putnam et al, 2006), and both instruments have yielded a similar three factor temperament structure that include NE with many consistent factor loadings across both measures (Putnam, Ellis, & Rothbart, 2001). Convergent validity and structural continuity between the IBQ-R and the ECBQ has been demonstrated (Putnam, Rothbart, & Gartstein, 2008). NE was extracted as per the method for the IBQ-R and consisted of the same subscales (fear, frustration, motor activation, perceptual sensitivity, sadness, discomfort, shyness and soothability (negative loading)) as per the original report (Putnam, Rothbart, & Gartstein, 2008).…”

“…Convergent validity and structural continuity between the IBQ-R and the ECBQ has been demonstrated (Putnam, Rothbart, & Gartstein, 2008). NE was extracted as per the method for the IBQ-R and consisted of the same subscales (fear, frustration, motor activation, perceptual sensitivity, sadness, discomfort, shyness and soothability (negative loading)) as per the original report (Putnam, Rothbart, & Gartstein, 2008). Impulsivity (negative loading) only loaded at 18 months.…”

Ready or not: Kindergarten classroom engagement as an indicator of child school readiness

“…Though children's development of self-regulation is partially due to maturation, early environments and experiences with caregivers can also shape its course (Bernier, Carlson & Whipple, 2010;Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Given the notion of heterotypic continuity, early individual differences in attention control and temperament are likely to manifest themselves as greater task-orientation and classroom engagement by the time children enter school (Putnam et al, 2008;Rothbart & Bates, 2006). Furthermore, initial differences in cognitive control can help children develop the ability to mobilise attention in the service of emotional regulation, which in turn can be beneficial for sustaining concentration in stressful or frustrating situations.…”

“…Given the importance of cognitive control and early attention control in the pursuit of goal-directed behaviour (Barkley, 1997;Rothbart & Bates, 2006), it is likely that early childhood cognitive development forecasts school entry engagement. One possibility is that heterotypic continuity exists in cognitive control ability from the early pre-school years to age five, whereby early cognitive control skills culminate in better classroom engagement at school entry (Putnam, Rothbart & Gartstein, 2008). From an intervention perspective, better understanding this developmental chain remains an important goal for enhancing school readiness in at-risk children.…”

Emotional and attentional predictors of self-regulation in early childhood

“…However it is important to note that in many studies this described direction was somehow "forced" by the design of the study. The emotional regulation was measured during infancy, then attentional functioning was measured during toddlerhood and self-regulatory abilities were measured later on (Feldman, 2004;2009;Putnam et al, 2008). The rationale for such design is developmental order of brain maturation mentioned earlier (Feldman, 2009); however it does not allow to answer the question if there is only one possible path of relation, leading from emotional to attentional regulation.…”