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Childhood derivatives of high and low reactivity in infancy
1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. JK@WJH.HARVARD.EDU
Insights
High reactive infants showed less spontaneous and sociable behavior later in childhood. However, consistent inhibited or uninhibited behavior was rare across developmental stages.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Behavioral science
- Child psychology
Background:
- Early childhood temperament, specifically reactivity to stimulation, may influence later behavioral development.
- Understanding the stability of behavioral phenotypes from infancy to early childhood is crucial for developmental research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal association between early reactivity and later behavioral inhibition/disinhibition.
- To examine the consistency of inhibited and uninhibited behavioral phenotypes across multiple developmental time points.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study tracking 193 children from 4 months to 4.5 years.
- Classification of infants as high or low reactive to stimulation at 4 months.
- Behavioral observation at 14 months, 21 months, and 4.5 years for signs of inhibited/uninhibited behavior.
Main Results:
- Children identified as high reactive at 4 months displayed significantly less spontaneous and sociable behavior at 4.5 years compared to low reactive children.
- A small proportion of children exhibited a consistently inhibited or uninhibited phenotype across all observed ages (4 months, 14 months, 21 months, and 4.5 years).
Conclusions:
- Early infant reactivity is a predictor of later behavioral characteristics such as spontaneity and sociability.
- Behavioral phenotypes related to inhibition and disinhibition show considerable lability during early development, with limited long-term consistency for most children.
Abstract:
A group of 193 children, classified as high or low reactive to stimulation at 4 months and observed again at 14 and 21 months, were observed at 4 1/2 years of age for behavioral signs of inhibited or uninhibited behavior. Children who had been high reactive were less spontaneous and less sociable than those who had been classified as low reactive, but only a small proportion of children maintained a consistently inhibited or uninhibited phenotype at all ages.