Early temperament prospectively predicts anxiety in later childhood

To investigate the contribution of early childhood temperamental constructs corresponding to 2 subtypes of general negative emotionality-fearful distress (unadaptable temperament) and irritable distress (fussy-difficult temperament)-to later anxiety in a nationally representative sample.

Using multiple linear regression analyses, we tested the hypothesis that caregiver-reported child unadaptable temperament and fussy-difficult temperament scales of children aged 2 to 3 years (in 1995) would prospectively predict caregiver-reported child anxiety symptoms at ages 4 to 5, 6 to 7, 8 to 9, and 10 to 11 years, and child-reported anxiety at 10 to 11 years (controlling for sex, age, and socioeconomic status) in a nationally representative sample from Statistics Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (initial weighted n = 768,600).

Only fussy-difficult temperament predicted anxiety in children aged 6 to 7 years. In separate regressions, unadaptable temperament and fussy-difficult temperament each predicted anxiety at 8 to 9 years, but when both were entered simultaneously, only unadaptable temperament remained a marginal predictor. Temperament did not significantly predict caregiver- or child-reported anxiety at 10 to 11 years, suggesting that as children age, environmental factors may become more important contributors to anxiety than early temperament.

Our results provide the first demonstration that early temperament is related to later childhood anxiety in a nationally representative sample.