Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
08:09

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

Relating early child adjustment to infant and parent temperament

A Scholom, R A Zucker, G E Stollak

    Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
    |September 1, 1979
    PubMed

    Insights

    Infant temperament, particularly mood, significantly influences girls' adjustment, while maternal mood impacts both sexes. Family temperament similarity also plays a role, with sex differences observed in child adjustment outcomes.

    Area of Science:

    • Developmental Psychology
    • Child Psychology
    • Temperament Research

    Background:

    • Understanding child adjustment is crucial for early intervention.
    • Parent and infant temperament are recognized as key factors in child development.
    • The New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS) provides a foundational framework for temperament research.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the roles of infant and parent temperament in child adjustment at age 4.
    • To examine sex differences in the relationship between temperament and adjustment.
    • To explore the impact of temperamental similarity within families on child adjustment.

    Main Methods:

    • Utilized the conceptual framework of the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS).
    • Assessed infant and parent temperament, identifying three comparable factors: Mood, Energy, and Consistency.
    • Correlated temperament factors with teacher ratings of child adjustment and analyzed family temperamental similarity.

    Main Results:

    • Infant girls' Mood factor showed the most significant correlation with adjustment, similar to the NYLS "difficult" infant factor.
    • No infant temperament factors related to boys' adjustment, but maternal Mood was significant for both sexes.
    • Family temperamental similarity related to adjustment in girls, while boy-father dissimilarity was significant for boys.

    Conclusions:

    • Infant temperament, especially mood, is a critical predictor of adjustment in girls.
    • Maternal temperament influences adjustment across sexes, highlighting the importance of parental factors.
    • Sex-specific pathways exist for temperament's influence on child adjustment, suggesting different developmental trajectories.

    More Related Videos

    The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs08:59

    The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs

    Published on: October 13, 2017

    Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure07:56

    Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure

    Published on: September 19, 2019

    Related Concept Videos

    Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

    Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

    Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.
    Adler's Individual Psychology01:28

    Adler's Individual Psychology

    Alfred Adler, a prominent figure in psychology, founded the school of individual psychology. In contrast to Freud's emphasis on sexual or aggressive motives, Adler suggested that individuals are primarily motivated by their purposes and goals. He believed that people strive for perfection rather than pleasure. Adler argued that individuals could creatively act upon their genetic inheritance and environmental experiences to shape their own lives, emphasizing conscious motivation over unconscious...
    Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

    Socioemotional Development during Infancy

    Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
    Primary Temperament Types
    Stella Chess...
    Attachment01:20

    Attachment

    Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that physical...
    Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

    Relationship with Parents: Attachment

    Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
    Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles01:28

    Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

    Attachment theory, developed initially to explain infant–caregiver bonds, has been extended to illuminate patterns of intimacy in adult romantic relationships. Psychologists Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver proposed that the attachment styles observed in infancy form a framework for how individuals approach emotional closeness and conflict in adulthood. These attachment styles—secure, avoidant, and anxious—are linked to enduring patterns of behavior and emotional regulation in adult relationships.