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Correlates of difficult temperament in infancy
Insights
Difficult infant temperament shows no clear links to development, parental traits, or home environment. This challenges the usefulness of the "difficult temperament" construct in early childhood research.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Behavior
- Child Psychology
Background:
- The concept of "difficult temperament" in infants is of interest, but its early correlates are not well understood.
- Existing research lacks comprehensive data on the factors associated with difficult infant temperament within the first two years of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlates of difficult temperament in infants aged 12 and 24 months.
- To examine relationships between difficult temperament and infant functioning, parental personality, and the home environment.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 272 families (152 adopted, 120 nonadopted infants) was conducted.
- Data were collected through parental reports, tester ratings using Bayley's Infant Behavior Record, Bayley Mental Index scores, Cattell's 16PF test, temperament inventories, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME), and Family Environment Scales (FES).
- Analyses included the entire sample and a subsample of the 10% most difficult infants.
Main Results:
- No significant relationships were found between difficult temperament and infant development, parental characteristics, or home environment measures.
- This lack of association held true for the overall sample and the subgroup of most difficult infants.
- No significant interactions were identified between parental personality and home environment in their effect on difficult temperament.
Conclusions:
- The findings cast doubt on the utility of the broad construct of "difficult temperament" in infancy.
- Evidence suggests that difficult temperament does not reliably predict concurrent or later behavioral problems.
- There is a need to focus on specific infant temperaments that parents perceive as difficult, rather than a general category.
Abstract:
Despite interest in the construct of "difficult temperament" in infancy, little is known about its correlates within the first 2 years of life. In a study of 272 families consisting of 152 adopted and 120 nonadopted infants tested in their homes at 12 and 24 months of age, a parental report of difficult temperament was related to 3 major areas of correlates: (1) infant functioning (parental ratings of temperament, tester ratings using Bayley's Infant Behavior Record, and Bayley Mental Index scores); (2) parental personality (Cattell's 16PF test and a self-report temperament inventory); and (3) measures of the home environment (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment and the Family Environment Scales). No systematic significant relationships were found between difficult temperament and other aspects of infant development, parental characteristics, or the home environment for the entire sample or for a subsample consisting of the 10% most difficult infants. In addition, we found no evidence for significant interactions between parental personality and home environment as they affect difficult temperament nor did interactions of any type emerge as significant. Taken together with other evidence indicating that difficult temperament in infancy fails to predict concurrent or later behavioral problems, these data add to growing doubts about the utility of the construct of difficult temperament and suggest the need to consider specific infant temperaments that parents find difficult.