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Associations Between Temperament and Social Responsiveness in Young Children

Brenda Salley1, Angela Miller, Martha Ann Bell

  • 1Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech.

Infant and Child Development
|September 27, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Temperament influences social responsiveness in young children. This study found that individual differences in temperament are linked to variations in social responsiveness, measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS).

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Social responsiveness, encompassing social awareness, processing, communication, motivation, and interests, is continuously distributed in the population.
  • Temperament is a key factor in individual differences in early childhood development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between temperament and social responsiveness in young children.
  • To determine if temperament explains individual differences in social responsiveness.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 62 infants from 2 to 4 years old.
  • Temperament assessed using the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire and Children's Behavior Questionnaire.
  • Social responsiveness measured at 4 years old using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS).

Main Results:

  • Multivariate associations were found between temperament components and social responsiveness across all assessment ages.
  • Findings align with existing literature on temperament and socio-developmental links.
  • Temperament significantly contributes to variability in social responsiveness.

Conclusions:

  • Temperament is a crucial factor in understanding individual differences in social responsiveness in typically developing children.
  • Results support the use of the SRS for measuring social responsiveness in relation to temperament.
  • This research highlights the importance of considering temperament in early social development.

Keywords:
ChildIndividual DifferencesInfantSocial CompetenceSocial ResponsivenessTemperament

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