Infant temperament and behavioral problems: analysis of high-risk infants in child welfare

Abstract

Researchers have demonstrated the association between difficult temperament in infancy and early childhood behavioral problems, but to date this has not been demonstrated in the child welfare population. This study utilized the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of children in the child-welfare system. The sample consisted of 1,084 infants 0–12 months old at baseline who were investigated for suspected child abuse. The researchers used longitudinal, multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between difficult temperament score in infants 0–12 months who had child welfare involvement and clinical-range Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) score at 36-months-follow-up. Findings from this study suggest that among children with substantiated maltreatment, difficult temperament in infancy predicts early childhood behavioral problems. This relationship persists after adjusting for other risk factors, such as placement, caregiver depression, and family income. The study also discusses implications for child welfare practices.

Sex differences in associations between early adversity, child temperament, and behavior problems

“…According to the developmental-ecological model, temperament may interact with parental characteristics to increase the likelihood of later neglect and parental maltreatment (Belsky, 1993). For example, parents who are predisposed toward abusive behavior may lack appropriate coping and parenting skills that are required to manage young children with difficult temperaments (Maltby et al, 2018). Furthermore, difficult temperament in early childhood and negative parenting have been found to mutually exacerbate one another over time in bidirectional ways (Micalizzi et al, 2017; Wittig & Rodriguez, 2019).…”

The Association between Diurnal Sleep Patterns and Emotions in Infants and Toddlers Attending Nursery

“…Consequently, we did not interpret the results as clinically relevant, but only as descriptive indicators of possible tendencies towards internalizing and externalizing problems. The scale was chosen, by authors’ consensus, as standardly used in pediatric research and clinical care, e.g., [ 28 ]. Parents were asked to fill in the questionnaire thinking about their child and answering as accurately as possible.…”