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Temperament in full-term and preterm infants: stability over ages 6 to 24 months
1University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Kentucky 40292.
Insights
Temperament stability in full-term infants emerges early in the first year. Preterm infants show less stable temperament traits until later in the second year of life.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
- Child Development
Background:
- Temperament is a foundational aspect of personality, influencing social and emotional development.
- Understanding temperament stability is crucial for identifying developmental trajectories and potential challenges.
- Previous research has explored temperament but longitudinal stability across early infancy requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the longitudinal stability of infant temperament across the first two years of life.
- To compare temperament stability between full-term and preterm infants.
- To identify the age at which temperament becomes a stable individual difference in infancy.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study assessing 109 full-term and 81 preterm infants.
- Infants were evaluated at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of age.
- Structured laboratory vignettes were used to rate emotional tone, attentiveness, activity, and orientation.
Main Results:
- Full-term infants demonstrated significant temperament stability across all assessed age intervals.
- Preterm infants exhibited sporadic or delayed temperament stability, emerging later in infancy.
- Stable individual differences in temperament were evident earlier in full-term infants compared to preterm infants.
Conclusions:
- Stable temperament characteristics are apparent in full-term infants during their first year.
- Temperament in preterm infants is less clearly defined in early infancy, becoming more stable later.
- Findings highlight differential developmental pathways of temperament in relation to gestational age.
Abstract:
Temperament stability over successive ages in the first 2 years of life was evaluated for 109 full-term and 81 preterm infants who were assessed at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. At each age, the infant was engaged in a series of age-appropriate vignettes in the laboratory, using a structured sequence of activities. Ratings were made of emotional tone, attentiveness, activity, and orientation to staff. Correlations indicated that, for full-term infants, there was significant stability across ages (6 to 9 months, 9 to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, and 18 to 24 months) for all variables. For preterm infants, stability across ages generally was not observed until later infancy, or was sporadic. The findings indicated that, for full-term infants, stable aspects of temperament were apparent during the first year of life. In contrast, individual differences were not as clearly defined for preterm infants until later ages.