Significance of Extreme Temperament in Infancy for Clinical Status in Preschool Years

Abstract

Few, if any, of children's behavioural or cognitive characteristics assessed in the first years of life demonstrate stability until later childhood; early characteristics have so far failed to show an association with future psychopathology. This longitudinal study, from 4-8 months to 4.7 years old, focused on stability and change of extreme temperamental traits in groups of infants subselected from a large birth cohort. Persistent extreme temperament at four and eight months old did not increase stability of temperament to four years of age, relative to other children in the whole population. Sizeable change occurred, and the environmental parameters associated with negative temperamental change did not seem to be the same as those related to positive change. Boys with extreme scores were more stable, while girls appeared more prone to positive change. It is hypothesised that the direction of temperamental change in the first years could be more meaningful for long-term prediction of disorders than any one assessment of temperament taken at any one year.

The Association of Behavioural Adjustment to Temperament, Parenting and Family Characteristics among 5‐Year‐Old Children

“…Much research has used global categorisations of temperament such as 'easy' and 'difficult' (e.g. Lee & Bates, 1985;Maziade, Cote, Bernier, Boutin, & Thivierge, 1989). However, a focus of recent research has been the identification of relationships between specific temperament traits and behavioural adjustment.…”

“…A few studies have included measures of both parenting style, conceptualised in a variety of ways (e.g. Maziade, et al, 1989;, and temperament, and have indicated that each makes an independent contribution to children's behaviour. Prior et al, for example, reported that in 6-7 year old girls, temperament dimensions (inflexibility and persistence) as well as punitive parenting had direct paths to behaviour problems, concurrently and at a 12 month follow-up.…”

Early risk factors and pathways in the development of early disruptive behavior problems

“…Studies examining the direct effects of domains are found more often in families difficult temperament on later externalizing from lower socioeconomic backgrounds (Rich-behavior problems in the preschool and man, Stevenson, & Graham, 1982;Rutter, school-age periods have shown modest to 1978). However, because multiple risk factors moderate relations (Maziade, Cote, Bernier, tend to cluster in the same low socioeconomic Boutin, & Thivierge, 1989;Sanson et al, status (SES) environments, it has been diffi-1991). cult to disentangle the exact pathways leading Infant attachment security also has been from risk to the development of disruptive be-found to be related to later externalizing probhavior problems.…”

Occipital hemi‐bun development and shape covariation in a longitudinal extant human growth sample

“…This sampling methodology ensured that relatively rare examples of defined hemi‐bun morphology were represented. Similar methods of extreme case sampling have been successfully used in a number of fields, including paleoanthropological (Maddux & Franciscus, ), behavioral (Maziade, Cote, Bernier, Boutin, & Thivierge, ), and genetic (Li, Lewinger, Gauderman, Murcray, & Conti, ; Nebert, ) studies. The primary questions posed by the present study, involving spatial dynamics and covariation patterns associated with distinct hemi‐bun morphology, can be most clearly addressed using this nonrandom sampling methodology.…”