Temperament and School Readiness – A Literature Review

Potměšilová, Petra; Potměšíl, Miloň

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.599411

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…A focus on temperament is consistent with the Practice Model from the National Association of School Psychologists, which emphasizes that school psychologists should use data-based decision making at the individual to systems level and should consider the broader context, such as the classroom context when conducting assessments and interventions (National Association of School Psychologists, 2020). A focus on temperament is also consistent with prior evidence that temperament is a primary factor that contributes to a goodness of fit between children and their classroom environment (Carey, 1998; Vitiello et al, 2012), and meta-analytic work has found a direct link between temperament and school readiness (Potmesilova & Potmesil, 2021). Interventions, such as INSIGHTS, target teacher and parent responding to facilitate school readiness for children with high-maintenance temperaments (McCormick et al, 2015).…”

Section: The Present Studysupporting

confidence: 79%

A social–ecological model of preschoolers’ aggressive behavior: An exploratory analysis.

Perry,

Perhamus,

Memba

et al. 2024

School Psychology

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Understanding classroom-level correlates of preschool children's aggressive behavior is critical to identifying multiple avenues for intervention within schools. The present school-based study evaluated the reliability and validity of a classroom-level measure of physical and relational aggression and examined a social-ecological model to test whether individual variables (i.e., temperament), dyadic peer factors (i.e., peer victimization, the number of a child's play partners), and classroom-level aggression were associated with individual aggression. Observations of play partners and teacher reports of temperament (i.e., daring, prosociality, and negative emotionality), peer victimization (i.e., physical and relational victimization), and classroom aggression were collected in a sample of preschoolers (N = 307; M age = 48.99 months, SD = 7.51). Observer reports of aggression were used to create aggression severity and directionality scores, reflecting the overall level of aggression a child displays and their propensity to use physical relative to relational aggression, respectively. There was evidence to support the reliability and validity of the classroom-level aggression measure providing initial support that this measure could be used by school psychologists. A multilevel regression model indicated that higher levels of negative emotionality, daring, and a greater number of play partners were associated with higher levels of aggression severity. Children in classrooms with more relational aggression were more likely to use relational instead of physical aggression. These findings demonstrate the importance for school psychologists to account for multiple levels of influence when examining preschoolers' aggression. Impact and ImplicationsThe present study addressed gaps in the school psychology literature by evaluating the association between preschoolers' classroom-level aggression and their individual aggression while controlling for child temperament and dyadic peer experiences. Results demonstrated that classroom relational aggression was associated with the type of aggressive behavior a child uses (i.e., relational aggression), whereas temperament was more strongly related to the severity of a child's aggressive behavior. These findings indicate that school psychologists should consider individual-, dyadic-, and classroom-level factors when considering children's aggressive behavior.

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Section: The Present Studysupporting

confidence: 79%

A social–ecological model of preschoolers’ aggressive behavior: An exploratory analysis.

Perry,

Perhamus,

Memba

et al. 2024

School Psychology

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“…Child effortful control is narrowly linked to executive functions ( Bridgett et al, 2013 ), school readiness ( Gobeil-Bourdeau et al, 2021 ; Potmesilova and Potmesil, 2021 ), and academic competence ( Liew, 2012 ). As such, early childhood professionals can also help support school readiness by implementing evidence-based intervention programs or strategies that benefit children’ development of skills such as inhibitory and attentional control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As children transition to school, effortful control is likely to help children succeed through a cascade of effects. For one, effortful control provides a strong basis for cognitive and social dimensions of school readiness ( Potmesilova and Potmesil, 2021 ). Furthermore, better effortful control also contributes to child academic achievement indirectly through improved learning behaviors ( Blair and Razza, 2007 ; Sánchez-Pérez et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is the Association Between Early Childhood Screen Media Use and Effortful Control Bidirectional? A Prospective Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2022

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Individual differences in effortful control, a component of temperament, reflecting the ability to use attention and other cognitive processes to self-regulate emotion and behavior, contribute to child academic adjustment, social competence, and wellbeing. Research has linked excessive screen time in early childhood to reduced self-regulation ability. Furthermore, research suggests that parents are more likely to use screens with children who have more challenging temperaments, such as low levels of effortful control. Since screen time by children between the ages of 0 and 18 has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains timely to investigate the developmental pattern of association between child screen media use and effortful control. We hypothesize that higher levels of screen media intake at age 3.5 will be associated with lower effortful control at age 4.5 and that lower effortful control at 3.5 will contribute to more screen media intake at age 4.5. This study draws on participants followed longitudinally over the span of 2-years for an investigation of Canadian preschoolers’ screen media use during the pandemic (N = 316, Wave 1). A follow-up with this sample was completed in 2021 (N = 265, Wave 2). Analyses using a cross-lagged panel model revealed stability in child screen time and effortful control between the ages of 3.5 and 4.5. Child screen time at age 3.5 significantly contributed to decreased effortful control scores at the age of 4.5, whereas effortful control at age 3.5 did not contribute to screen time at age 4.5. Our results partially confirmed our hypothesis and indicated that higher levels of screen time intake were detrimental to the development of effortful control. These results suggest that screen media use, an exceedingly frequent activity, may play an enduring role in development by shaping young children’s temperaments.

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“…violence exposure, mental health and violence, community violence, children exposed to domestic violence, domestic violence Dimensions of temperament can be measured reliably in childhood and reflect individual differences in emotional and behavioral responses to the environment (Rothbart, 2007). A substantial body of work has demonstrated robust links between early assessments of temperament and a range of outcomes in later childhood and adolescence including school readiness, psychopathology, and academic success (Janson & Mathiesen, 2008;Potmesilova & Potmesil, 2021;Valiente et al, 2021). Most of this research has focused on negative emotionality, a transdiagnostic risk factor for a range of behavioral and emotional outcomes (Abulizi et al, 2017;Marakovitz et al, 2011;Rettew et al, 2004;Wolff & Baglivio, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timing of Violence Exposure and Girls’ Temperament Stability From Childhood to Adolescence

Battaglia

Tung

Keenan

et al. 2023

J Interpers Violence

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Individual differences in temperament (e.g., negative emotionality) are robust early predictors of emotional and behavioral health. Although temperament is often conceptualized as relatively stable across the lifespan, evidence suggests that it may change over time as a function of social context. Extant studies have been limited by cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal designs that have precluded tests of stability as well as factors that may influence stability across developmental periods. In addition, few studies have tested the impact of social contexts that are common for children living in urban and under-resourced environments, such as exposure to community violence. In the present study we hypothesized that levels of negative emotionality, activity, and shyness would decrease across development from childhood to mid-adolescence as a function of early exposure to violence in the Pittsburgh Girls Study, a community study of girls enriched for families living in low-resourced neighborhoods. Temperament was assessed by parent- and teacher-report on the Emotionality Activity Sociability Shyness Temperament Survey in childhood (5–8-years-old), early-adolescence (11-years-old), and mid-adolescence (15-years-old). Violence exposure (e.g., victim of or witness to violent crime, exposure to domestic violence) was assessed annually via child and parent report. Results showed that on average, combined caregiver and teacher reports of negative emotionality and activity level exhibited small but significant reductions from childhood to adolescence, whereas shyness remained stable. Violence exposure in early adolescence predicted increases in negative emotionality and shyness by mid-adolescence. Violence exposure was not associated with stability of activity level. Our findings suggest that exposure to violence, particularly in early adolescence, amplifies individual differences in shyness and negative emotionality, underlying an important pathway of risk for developmental psychopathology.

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Temperament and School Readiness – A Literature Review

Cited by 9 publications

References 86 publications

A social–ecological model of preschoolers’ aggressive behavior: An exploratory analysis.

A social–ecological model of preschoolers’ aggressive behavior: An exploratory analysis.

Is the Association Between Early Childhood Screen Media Use and Effortful Control Bidirectional? A Prospective Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Timing of Violence Exposure and Girls’ Temperament Stability From Childhood to Adolescence

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