Temperament and the Concept of Goodness of Fit

Chess, Stella; Thomas, Alexander

doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-0643-4_2

Cited by 111 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Accordingly, in the literature on parent -infant interaction, the comprehension of early interactive structures as an interplay, as a transactional process, is reflected in concepts such as synchrony, synchronicity, reciprocity, balance, mutuality, and so on (Crockenberg, 1981;Field, 1992;Papouŝek & Papouŝek, 1995;Papouŝek & Papouŝek, 1990). Eventually, as various models of early parent -infant interaction propose, the "match" (Stern, 1974) or "fit" (Chess & Thomas, 1991;Lerner & Lerner, 1983;Papouŝek & Papouŝek, 1995;Papouŝek & Papouŝek, 1990;Windle & Lerner, 1986) between infant and caregiver characteristics is crucial for the further course of the infant's development (see also Osofsky & Connors, 1979).…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Predicting maternal reactivity/sensitivity: The role of infant emotionality, maternal depressiveness/anxiety, and social support

Mertesacker

Bade

Haverkock

et al. 2003

Infant Mental Health Journal

131

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It was hypothesized that an accumulation of unfavorable conditions, i.e., high negative emotionality and low positive emotionality of the infant, maternal depression and anxiety, and lacking social and emotional support can attenuate mothers' reactivity/sensitivity. Maternal reactivity/sensitivity was observed during home visits and in the laboratory. Infant negative and positive emotionality was assessed by mother reports and behavioral observations. Maternal depressiveness/anxiety as well as social support were assessed via questionnaires. All mothers were primiparous and had healthy infants. Data collection was conducted at the infants' ages of four months (37 dyads) and eight months (33 dyads). The sample consisted of 19 male and 18 female infants (four-months' measurement). Whereas the presence of a single risk factor was not related to maternal reactivity/sensitivity, the combination was. A decrease in maternal reactivity/sensitivity over the course of time was demonstrated for mothers who had to deal with high negative emotionality of the infant in combination with either high depressiveness/anxiety or low social support at the infants' age of four months. No significant main or interaction effects could be shown for infant positive emotionality.RESUMEN: Se ha desarrollado una hipótesis que sostiene que una acumulación de condiciones desfavorables atenúa la reacción y la susceptibilidad de las madres. Entre estas condiciones se pueden citar las siguientes: un nivel altamente negativo de emotividad y la baja emotividad positiva del infante; la depresión maternal; la ansiedad y la falta de apoyo social y emocional. Este fenómeno de reacción/susceptibilidad maternal fue observado durante las visitas a casa y dentro del laboratorio. Tanto la negativa como la positiva emotividad del infante fueron evaluadas por medio de los informes de la madre y las observaciones de la conducta. La depresión/ansiedad de la madre, así como el apoyo social, fueron evaluados por medio de cuestionarios. Todas las madres eran primerizas y tenían infantes saludables. La recolección de los datos fue llevada a cabo cuando los infantes tenían 4 meses de nacidos (37 parejas de infantes-madre) y 8 meses (33 parejas). El grupo muestra estaba compuesto de 19 varones y 18 niñas (con respecto a la evaluación a los 4 meses). En aquellos casos en los que la presencia de un solo factorThe authors would like to thank PD Dr. C. Schubring, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Evangelical Hospital Giessen, as well as the neonatal nurses for the friendly cooperation with which they supported the present study. Special thanks also to the families who participated in the study. Direct correspondence to: Ulla Bade, Department of Medical Psychology, University of Giessen, Friedrichstrasse 36, D-35392 Giessen, Germany; e-mail: Ulla.Bade@psycho.med.uni-giessen.de. • B. Mertesacker et al.de riesgo no estuvo relacionado con la reacción/susceptibilidad de la madre, la combinación de factores si lo estuvo. Se demostró una baja...

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mentioning

confidence: 97%

Predicting maternal reactivity/sensitivity: The role of infant emotionality, maternal depressiveness/anxiety, and social support

Mertesacker

Bade

Haverkock

et al. 2003

Infant Mental Health Journal

131

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“…For a better understanding of this early risk period, further attention should certainly be given not only to infant temperament but also to the role of parental factors (e.g. parenting, parental cognition) and the concept of 'goodness of fit' between child temperament and parental style [44] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Predictors of Separation Anxiety Disorder: Early Stranger Anxiety, Parental Pathology and Prenatal Factors

et al. 2011

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Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is defined as anxiety over being away from a loved one, usually a parent, and is one of the most common anxiety disorders in children under 18 years of age [1] , with median prevalence rates between 1.09 and 4.1% in English-speaking children aged 5-11 [2-4] and 0.75% in Swiss children aged 7-16 years [5] . Further, SAD is a well-established predictor of later psychopathology, including depression, panic dis order with and without agoraphobia [6][7][8] , generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, pain disorder, alcohol dependence [9] , specific phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress [10] . Despite its significance, a thorough etiological profile of the factors contributing to SAD is not yet complete.Current models of the development of anxiety in children tend to focus on anxiety disorders in general, and have not been specifically tested with children with specific disorders such as SAD. Further, existing models, while expansive, may not be completely comprehensive. Key WordsSeparation anxiety disorder ؒ Parental pathology ؒ Prenatal risk factors ؒ Pregnancy ؒ Stranger anxiety Abstract Objective: The present study seeks to extend research on the etiology of separation anxiety disorder (SAD) in a German-speaking sample by examining differences between children with SAD and healthy comparisons, using a retrospective-reporting paradigm. Method: The sample included 106 children with SAD and 44 healthy children between the ages of 4 and 14 years. Parents completed questionnaires and structured clinical interviews to assess parental pathology, pregnancy variables and strong early stranger anxiety. Results: Children with SAD were more likely than healthy children to have had a phase of stronger stranger anxiety in infancy. Further, early stranger anxiety remained a significant predictor of SAD after controlling for maternal depression. Meaningful effects were not found for the influence of parental age at birth or other pregnancy factors. Conclusion: This study provides beginning evidence of the potential predictive value of strong stranger anxiety in distinguishing children with SAD from those with no disorder, above and beyond the influence of parental pathology.

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“…(2) In many temperament theories, it is assumed that temperamental traits serve given adaptive functions and that, depending on the interaction with the broadly understood environment, different developmental and behavioral effects occur (Eliasz, 1990;Strelau, 1983;Thomas & Chess, 1977;Windle, Iwawaki & Lerner, 1987). This idea has been broadly elaborated by Super and Harkness (1986) (Chess & Thomas, 1991;Lerner, 1983;Talwar, Nitz, Lerner & Lerner, 1991) difficult child (Bates, 1980;Carey, 1986;Thomas & Chess, 1977) and temperament risk factor (Carey & McDevitt, 1989;Strelau, 1989) Taking into account the cross-cultural studies on temperament conducted until now, it can be said that our knowledge does not permit far-reaching generalizations (see Kohnstamm, 1989;Voss & Keller, 1988). In the majority of studies concerned with the universality of traits and the structure of temperament, the same diagnostic measures-in different language versions-have been used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-cultural studies on temperament: Theoretical considerations and empirical studies based on the Pavlovian Temperament Survey

Strelau

Angleitner

1994

Personality and Individual Differences

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Stunmary-Differentapproaches to the study of temperament in a cross-cultural frame of reference are discussed. The procedure applied in the construction of the Revised Strelau Temperament Inventory (STI-R), which was renamed the Pavlovian Temperament Survey (PTS), is suggested as an alternative approach. This approach starts with an exhaustive and prototypical item sample (i.e. item universe) for a proposed construct in one culture. By applying identical statistical analyses in the psychometric treatment, parallel tests for mapping the constructs in different cultures can be developed. Descriptive comparisons of the properties of the PTS-versions for different languages, nations, or cultures (Australian English, Dutch, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, and Russian) are given.

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Temperament and the Concept of Goodness of Fit

Cited by 111 publications

References 5 publications

Predicting maternal reactivity/sensitivity: The role of infant emotionality, maternal depressiveness/anxiety, and social support

Predicting maternal reactivity/sensitivity: The role of infant emotionality, maternal depressiveness/anxiety, and social support

Early Predictors of Separation Anxiety Disorder: Early Stranger Anxiety, Parental Pathology and Prenatal Factors

Cross-cultural studies on temperament: Theoretical considerations and empirical studies based on the Pavlovian Temperament Survey

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