A longitudinal analysis of anger and inhibitory control in twins from 12 to 36 months of age

Abstract

Inhibitory control (IC) is a dimension of child temperament that involves the self-regulation of behavioral responses under some form of instruction or expectation. Although IC is posited to appear in toddlerhood, the voluntary control of emotions such as anger begins earlier. Little research has analyzed relations between emotional development in infancy and later emerging IC. We examined phenotypic associations and genetic and environmental influences on parent-and laboratory-assessed anger and IC in a twin sample from 12 to 36 months of age. Typically, twins with low levels of IC had high levels of anger. Behavioral genetic findings confirmed significant genetic influences on anger and IC as assessed by parents, and on lab-based anger assessments. Shared environmental factors contributed to twin similarity on lab-assessed anger and IC at 36 months. Phenotypic covariance between anger and IC was largely due to overlapping genetic factors for parent ratings, and environmental factors in the laboratory.Inhibitory control (IC) is a feature of child temperament involving the self-regulation of behavioral responses under some form of instruction or expectation (Goldsmith, 1996;Kochanska, Murray, Jacques, Koenig, & Vandegeest, 1996;Rothbart, 1989a;Rothbart, Ahadi, Hershey & Fisher, 2001). Classic examples of IC include the ability to refrain from touching a hot stove, or from reaching for a cookie jar on a shelf, in the presence of an adult who has voiced a warning. Children who develop typical levels of IC are able to successfully inhibit behavior when necessary. Conversely, low IC often results in impulsive behavior. Early IC is significant because children with typically developing IC have fewer cognitive difficulties, more stable socio-emotional development, and less behavioral maladjustment. Inhibitory Control and Early TemperamentAccording to many theorists, temperament describes early appearing behavioral and emotional tendencies, refers to individual differences in both reactivity and self-regulation, is considered relatively stable within broad developmental periods, tends to form the emotional core of personality traits, and is generally considered to be strongly biologically influenced (Goldsmith et al., 1987;Reed, Pien & Rothbart, 1984;Rothbart & Ahadi, 1994;Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981). IC abilities become apparent around two years of age, and Correspondence to: Jeffrey R. Gagne, jgagne@wisc.edu. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptDev Sci. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 January 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript continue to develop in early childhood (Kochanska et al., 1996;Rothbart, 1989a). Many temperament researchers consider IC to be a major component of effortful control (EC), a less differentiated, earlier appearing temperament factor that involves the child's ability to engage in self-regulation (Eisenberg et al., 2001;2004;Lemery-Chalfant, Doelger, & Goldsmith, 2008). EC is theorized to appear between 6 and 12 months of age (Kochanska,...

Early—but modest—gender differences in focal aspects of childhood temperament

“…Our Lab-TAB temperament composites showed low to moderate intercorrelations, a finding that was expected based on our prior studies (Gagne, Saudino & Asherson, 2011; Gagne & Goldsmith, 2011; Pfeifer, Goldsmith, Davidson, & Rickman, 2002). Also expected, associations across dimensions were much stronger within and between mother and father ratings.…”

The development of inhibitory control in early childhood: A twin study from 2–3 years.

“…First, our finding that parent ratings of IC show higher age-to-age stability than observer ratings is common in the literature (Saudino, 2003). In fact, the GEO study found a similar pattern of high stability for parent ratings and no stability for Lab-TAB ratings of anger across 12 and 36 months (Gagne & Goldsmith, 2011). Although it is possible that the higher stability for parent ratings is due to stability in the parent’s rating behaviors or their expectancies, this is unlikely given that it is genetic factors that largely explain the phenotypic age-to-age correlation for IC in the present study.…”

“…Only two of these studies have examined early IC in the context of a multi-method approach employing parent ratings and lab-based assessments (e.g., Gagne & Goldsmith, 2011; Gagne & Saudino, 2010). Both used Lab-TAB IC episodes as behavioral assessments, and standard parent rating questionnaires in moderately-sized twin samples.…”

Pediatric Irritability: A Systems Neuroscience Approach

“…Further, non-normative temper loss predicts the onset of mood and behavioral symptoms and disorders 16 months later [85]. In infants, it is possible to identify individual differences in responses to frustration; maternal, rather than lab-based, measures, are better predictors of irritability in toddlerhood [86, 87]. A new wave of lab-based and observational studies in infants using novel techniques may have more predictive power.…”