scholarly journals Sex differences in associations between early adversity, child temperament, and behavior problems

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 490-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse L. Coe ◽  
Lauren Micalizzi ◽  
Brittney Josefson ◽  
Stephanie H. Parade ◽  
Ronald Seifer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Child Temperament ◽  
Early Adversity ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Attentional Allocation ◽  
Full Sample ◽  
And Behavior

Early adversity is associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems among children, and effects of adversity on dimensions of child temperament may underlie these links. However, very little is known about the role of child sex in these processes. The current study examined whether there are indirect effects of early adversity on behavior problems through dimensions of child temperament and whether these indirect effects vary across child sex. Participants in this multimethod (parent-report survey, semistructured interview, child protection records) study included 274 preschool-aged children ( M age = 50.86 months; 52% with documented case of moderate to severe maltreatment) and their primary caregivers assessed at two time points spaced 6 months apart. Results of multigroup path analyses revealed that while anger mediated associations between lifetime stress and behavior problems for the full sample, inhibitory control and appropriate attentional allocation were significant intermediary mechanisms of lifetime stress for boys, but not for girls. Inhibitory control mediated associations between maltreatment and behavior problems for the full sample, but appropriate attentional allocation mediated these associations for boys only. Results suggest that early adversity influences child behavior problems through child temperament, particularly for boys. This work supports the perspective that temperament is influenced by characteristics of the early rearing environment, and the indirect effects of adversity on behavior problems through temperament vary across sex.

scholarly journals The genetic etiology of inhibitory control and behavior problems at 24 months of age

2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 1155-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Gagne ◽  
Kimberly J. Saudino ◽  
Philip Asherson
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Genetic Etiology ◽  
And Behavior

The Impact of Temperament in a School Setting: An Epidemiological Study

1986 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Boudreault ◽  
Jacques Thivierge
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Epidemiological Study ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Child Temperament ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Impact

The authors present the results of an epidemiological study on a large non-clinical population-based sample of French speaking seven year-old children (N = 596) whose aim was to verify if a relation exists between temperament and outward-type or inward-type behavior problems in school. The Thomas and Chess’ Parent Temperament Questionnaire, filled out twice by the parents over a four-week interval, was used to determine temperament. The Conners Teacher Questionnaire, filled out twice by the teachers over a four-week interval, was used to determine behavior problems in school. Five points emerge from this study. First, “difficult” temperament ‘per se’ is not associated either with outward-type or inward-type behavior problems in school. Second, a temperamental pattern of high activity and high approach with new stimuli predisposes boys to present outward-type behavior problems in school. Third, the temperamental traits of low adaptability or withdrawal with new stimuli predisposes girls to inward-type behavior problems in school. Fourth, the study demonstrates the importance of verifying if the associations between temperament and behavior problems are stable since, in the comparisons between results of the test with those of the retest, several of the associations found in one occasion failed to be replicated at the other. Fifth, the different influences of temperament according to sex emphasize the need to study boys and girls separately. Future studies should take into account interactions between parents/teachers and child temperament since these sex-related different influences of temperament could be related to the sex-related different attitudes of caretakers.

scholarly journals Anger and Approach Motivation in Infancy: Relations to Early Childhood Inhibitory Control and Behavior Problems

Infancy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie He ◽  
Kathryn Amey Degnan ◽  
Jennifer Martin McDermott ◽  
Heather A. Henderson ◽  
Amie Ashley Hane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Behavior Problems ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Approach Motivation ◽  
And Behavior

scholarly journals Predicting child temperament and behavior from the fetus

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet A. Dipietro ◽  
Kristin M. Voegtline ◽  
Heather A. Pater ◽  
Kathleen A. Costigan
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Behavioral Inhibition ◽  
Fetal Heart Rate ◽  
Fetal Heart ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Child Temperament ◽  
Behavioral Difficulties ◽  
Full Sample ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractThere remains little debate that the period before birth sets the stage for subsequent development, yet scant evidence exists showing continuity from characteristics of the individual fetus to characteristics of the child. This report examines, in two studies, whether baseline and evoked fetal neurobehavioral functioning are predictive of features of child temperament and behavior as reported by mothers when offspring were between 7 and 14 years old (M = 10.1 years). Study 1 utilizes data generated from 333 maternal–fetal pairs collected during an undisturbed condition during the second half of gestation in relation to the child temperament dimensions of behavioral inhibition and exuberance. Associations at 32 weeks gestation were detected between all features of fetal neurobehavior and behavioral inhibition. In adjusted models, slower fetal heart rate and less fetal movement were associated with significant unique variance in predicting higher levels of childhood behavioral inhibition. No associations were detected for exuberance. Study 2 focuses on the association of evoked fetal reactivity and recovery to induced maternal arousal with subsequent child behavioral difficulties in a subset of the full sample (n = 130). Greater recovery in fetal heart rate following maternal stimulation was predictive of fewer behavioral difficulties and more prosocial behavior in childhood. Results from both studies provide support for gestational origins of core individual differences that portend childhood outcomes with foundational reactivity and regulatory components.

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