Temperament and Home Environment Affect ADHD and Internalizing in Preschoolers

Abstract

Increasing prevalence of children’s attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and internalizing behaviors requires investigation into putative risk factors. This longitudinal project of 105 preschoolers examined influences of early life experiences (perinatal stressors, home environment) and individual differences (child temperament) on problem behaviors. Results demonstrated differences predicting to ADHD versus internalizing behaviors. Higher 5-year-old ADHD behavior was predicted by higher age 4 temperamental activity and a significant interaction between observed activity and temperamental effortful control. For children with low effortful control, higher age 4 observed activity corresponded with elevated 5-year-old ADHD behaviors. Conversely, for children in low chaos homes, greater age 4 temperamental activity significantly predicted fewer 5-year-old internalizing behaviors. These differential associations among preschoolers’ activity levels predicting to ADHD versus internalizing behaviors suggest that greater activity levels may be a risk for some children (e.g., low effortful control) but a protective factor for others (e.g., low household chaos). Clinical implications are discussed.