Multimethod Longitudinal Assessment of Temperament in Early Childhood

Abstract

The present study examined consistency of temperament across situations and time in early childhood. On two occasions, 7 months apart, we observed the responses of 94 four-year-olds to multiple standard laboratory procedures eliciting exuberance, fear, anger, sadness, or interest. In addition, fathers' and mothers' reports on children's temperament were obtained. Observed temperament showed substantial context specificity, varying across situations within dimensions. Structural equation models revealed separate observation and parental perception factors and factorial invariance and high stability for most dimensions. Stability coefficients based on correlations varied according to level of aggregation. Measurement convergence was generally moderate and was lowest for negative emotionality. Implications for the assessment of temperament are discussed in relation to differences in consistency across dimensions and convergence between measures.

Parenting, coparenting, and effortful control in preschoolers.

“…The CBQ is a widely used questionnaire for the measurement of temperament in 3-to 7-year-old children. We used an adapted and translated Dutch version (Majdandžić & Van den Boom, 2007). The Inhibitory Control scale consists of the mean score of 13 items that are scored with a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (extremely untrue of your child) to 7 (extremely true of your child), on the basis of the child's characteristics over the last 6 months.…”

The behaviour style observation system for young children predicts teacher‐reported externalizing behaviour in middle childhood

“…Research indicates that patterns of disruptive behaviour are fairly stable over time, with continuity between disruptive and aggressive behaviour in early childhood and in later childhood (Broidy et al, 2003;Snyder, Prichard, Schrepferman, Patrick, & Stoolmiller, 2004). Additionally, children whose behaviour styles show the highest levels of aggression may be the most likely to show stability of these maladaptive behaviours (Majdandžić & van den Boom, 2007). Studies on the longitudinal trajectories of internalizing behaviours indicate that these behaviours are less stable, with variation found according to the rater and risk factors accounted for (Keiley, Bates, Dodge, & Petit, 2000;Sterba, Prinstein, & Cox, 2007).…”

“…Fagot and Leve (1998) discussed their findings in the context of a meta-analysis showing that while the relation between different informants regarding child behaviour problems was generally significant, the size of the correlations between these variables was often small (Achenbach, McConaughy, & Howell, 1987). Other research has also indicated a limited agreement between observational measures and parent reports of children's temperaments (Majdandžić & van den Boom, 2007). While these findings may partially reflect diversity in children's behaviour across different environmental contexts, they may also support the use of additional observational measures to compliment parent reports, in order to provide a more complete evaluation of child behaviour.…”

“…It is important to consider that while length may be one of the advantages to the BSOS, measures that have longer, more comprehensive testing periods in which many contextual factors are considered will provide a more detailed description of the precursors of internalizing behaviours, as the specific behaviours included in the BSOS do not tap into these important dimensions. It should also be noted that previous research indicating instability of children's behaviours across situations may support the use of more extensive measures in a variety of situations and contexts in which the use of such measures is possible (Majdandžić & van den Boom, 2007).…”

“…Despite the availability of these observational measures, reports in the literature have traditionally relied on parent reports of temperament and behavioural style as primary measures (Majdandžić & van den Boom, 2007). There are a number of reasons for the reliance on parent reports of behavioural style and temperament, including cost effectiveness and the fact that parent ratings are based on a large number of interactions with the child, thus leading to high levels of internal reliability (Bornstein, Gaughran, & Segui, 1991;Fullard et al, 1984;Rothbart & Goldsmith, 1985;Rothbart et al, 1986).…”