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Assessment of type A behavior in preschoolers
Insights
Type A behavior in preschoolers can be identified by teachers. While mothers
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Type A behavior pattern (TABP) is characterized by competitiveness, time urgency, and hostility.
- Previous research suggests TABP emerges in childhood, but data on preschoolers is limited.
- Understanding early behavioral patterns is crucial for identifying potential long-term health risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if Type A behavior can be identified in four-year-old preschoolers.
- To examine the agreement between teachers' and mothers' ratings of Type A behavior.
- To investigate the stability of Type A behavior from ages four to six.
Main Methods:
- The Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) was used to assess Type A behavior in 219 four-year-old children.
- Teachers and mothers from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds provided ratings.
- Repeated measurements were taken at ages five and six on subsamples.
Main Results:
- Teachers could reliably identify Type A behavior in four-year-old preschoolers.
- A significant difference was observed between teacher and mother ratings of Type A/B characteristics.
- Type A behavior ratings remained stable from age four to five, but boys showed a shift towards Type B behavior by age six.
Conclusions:
- Teacher ratings are a valid method for identifying Type A behavior in preschoolers.
- Discrepancies between mother and teacher ratings warrant further investigation.
- Early behavioral patterns, including Type A tendencies, can evolve during early childhood, particularly in boys.
Abstract:
Teachers and mothers of 219 four-year-old preschoolers assessed their children for Type A behavior pattern using the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH). The sample was derived from five day care centers with Black, White, and Hispanic teachers and students from middle and lower class families. This study indicates that Type A behavior can be identified in four-year-old preschoolers on the basis of ratings by their teachers. A statistically significant difference was found between the ratings of Type A/B characteristics by teachers and those by mothers; however, these were not related to the sex or ethnicity of the children. Repeated measurements of Type A ratings in a subsample of the children at age five showed no significant change among boys or girls. However, repeated measurements at age six on a second subsample showed that boys had lower mean scores, i.e. were more Type B at age six than at age four.