Measuring difficult temperament the easy way

In this study, the authors introduce a new measure of infant temperament, the Pictorial Assessment of Temperament (PAT), and provide information about its psychometric qualities based on findings from a study of 132 mothers and infants. The PAT is a 10-item measure of "difficult" temperament that is quick and easy to use and avoids some of the inherent problems in existing paper-and-pencil measures of temperament (e.g., complexity of response choices, dependence on respondents' educational level and verbal skills). It has convergent validity with the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire and with observed behavior in a laboratory procedure, moderate reliability and stability over time, and moderate agreement between mothers' and fathers' reports. Predictive validity was demonstrated by significant associations with the children's later disruptive behavior, behavior problems, lack of sociability, and negativity in interactions with their mother. Parent characteristics (agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, sensitivity, depression) were not related to scores on the PAT, demonstrating its discriminant validity.