The impact of temperament in a school setting: an epidemiological study

The authors present the results of an epidemiological study on a large non-clinical population-based sample of French speaking seven year-old children (N = 596) whose aim was to verify if a relation exists between temperament and outward-type or inward-type behavior problems in school. The Thomas and Chess' Parent Temperament Questionnaire, filled out twice by the parents over a four-week interval, was used to determine temperament. The Conners Teacher Questionnaire, filled out twice by the teachers over a four-week interval, was used to determine behavior problems in school. Five points emerge from this study. First, "difficult" temperament 'per se' is not associated either with outward-type or inward-type behavior problems in school. Second, a temperamental pattern of high activity and high approach with new stimuli predisposes boys to present outward-type behavior problems in school. Third, the temperamental traits of low adaptability or withdrawal with new stimuli predisposes girls to inward-type behavior problems in school. Fourth, the study demonstrates the importance of verifying if the associations between temperament and behavior problems are stable since, in the comparisons between results of the test with those of the retest, several of the associations found in one occasion failed to be replicated at the other. Fifth, the different influences of temperament according to sex emphasize the need to study boys and girls separately. Future studies should take into account interactions between parents/teachers and child temperament since these sex-related different influences of temperament could be related to the sex-related different attitudes of caretakers.