Chilean Adaptation and Validation of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised Version

The temperament of pre-teens at risk of educational and social exclusion

Introduction

Vulnerability and poverty increase the educational and social exclusion of pre-teens. The goal of the present study was to identify the temperamental characteristics of pre-teens at risk of educational and social exclusion, depending on type of vulnerability and gender.

Methods

For the study, 329 students (167 boys and 162 girls) at risk of early school leaving were involved and grouped into four categories: preadolescents from single-parent families, students with an absent parent (for example, is working abroad), socially assisted students, and Roma pre-teens (socially assisted). To assess temperament the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ-R) was used.

Results

The results underline that in the case of the four super factors and for the two behavioral scales investigated, the scores (at group level) are, generally, within the average limits. The study highlights the importance of specialists to increase, in the case of pre-teens at risk of early school leaving, Effortful Control, and to decrease Negative Affectivity (which includes frustration and fear) and Depressive Mood. Significant differences between vulnerable boys and girls were observed, in the case of Surgency, Affiliation, and Depressive Mood. Also, using the Mann-Whitney (U) test and an independent sample t-test, gender-dependent differences were highlighted (considering the EATQ-R scales), in the case of each type of vulnerability. Using single-factor multivariate analysis of variances, the differences between preadolescents, depending on the type of vulnerability, were presented.

Discussion

In the case of Surgency, boys registered significantly higher scores than girls, while in the case of Affiliation and Depressive Mood girls obtained higher values. Gender- and type of vulnerability-dependent differences in temperament were discussed in the case of pre-teens, and showed a temperament-conscious education is necessary in future parental education and teacher training.

Risk factors for early use of e-cigarettes and alcohol: Dimensions and profiles of temperament

Adolescent e-cigarette use has been labeled an epidemic and alcohol use during this developmental period is associated with deleterious outcomes. Though specific temperamental dimensions have been shown to predict substance use, profiles of temperament have rarely been examined as predictors. This study examines dimensions and profiles of adolescent temperament as predictors of early use of e-cigarettes and alcohol. The sample was comprised of adolescent (62.07% female, 87.59% White, 82.76% Hispanic/Latinx)/caregiver dyads (N = 146) who completed the first two timepoints (M age at second timepoint = 16.16, SD = 0.68) of a longitudinal adolescent substance use study. Models showed parent-reported effortful control predicted protection against adolescent use of e-cigarettes, whereas adolescent report of effortful control predicted protection against alcohol use. Though dissimilar in temperamental pattern, three profiles emerged from both parent- and adolescent-report-based latent profile analysis models. Adolescents characterized by parents as displaying a Resilient profile had greater odds of e-cigarette use than those characterized by a Reserved profile, whereas adolescents who self-characterized as Mixed-type had markedly greater odds of alcohol use than those who self-characterized as Resilient. Utilization of temperamental profiles may aid in identification of particularly vulnerable subgroups of adolescents who may benefit from relevant preventative programing.

Parental Psychological Control: Maternal, Adolescent, and Contextual Predictors

Parental psychological control (PC) hinders the development of autonomy, identity formation, and the attainment of self-determination and individuation of adolescents. The aim of this study was to deepen the understanding of which conditions increase the risk of the use of maternal PC by simultaneously considering the contribution of adolescent temperament, maternal separation anxiety, and adolescents’ perception of interparental conflict. A correlational study involving a sample of 106 Chilean adolescent-mother dyads was done. Adolescents were, on average, 15.42 years old (SD = 1.09) and 77% male. Mothers were, on average, 45.46 years old (SD = 6.39). We administered self-report questionnaires to the adolescent measuring effortful control and frustration as temperamental dimensions, along with the perception of interparental conflict. Mothers reported on their separation anxiety. Both the adolescents and their mothers reported on the use of maternal PC. Adolescents reported higher levels of maternal PC than their mothers did. All predictors were associated with PC reports. Higher levels of maternal anxiety about adolescent distancing, inter-parental conflict, and adolescent frustration were associated with higher reported levels of PC. In contrast, higher levels of adolescent effortful control were associated with lower levels of maternal PC. Finally, when maternal separation anxiety and inter-parental conflict were high there was a higher use of maternal PC. The present findings inform on how adolescent’s self-regulatory skills could reduce the risk of being exposed to maternal PC. And highlight the importance of using a systemic and interactional conceptualization when trying to understand their use.

The structure of adolescent temperament and associations with psychological functioning: A replication and extension of Snyder et al. (2015)

The present study attempts to replicate and extend Snyder et al. (2015, JPSP). The original study examined the latent factor structure of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R), a commonly used measure of adolescent temperament, and showed that the resulting latent factors (i.e., effortful control, negative emotionality, and positive emotionality) had theoretically meaningful concurrent associations with several measures of adolescent functioning (depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], relational aggression, and school performance and behavior). We performed these same analyses using data from a large sample of Mexican-origin youth (N = 674), and also examined prospective associations between the three EATQ-R factors and measures of adolescent functioning assessed two years later. We found some evidence supporting the bifactor models reported in the original study but poor replication of the correlations among latent factors. Additionally, model comparisons demonstrated that correlated factors models produced more interpretable factors than the bifactor models. In contrast, we replicated most of the concurrent correlations (and extended the findings to prospective associations) between the EATQ-R factors and measures of adolescent functioning, supporting the construct validity of the EATQ-R as a measure of adolescent temperament. Thus, these findings raise concerns about the generalizability of the factor structure identified by Snyder et al. (2015), but bolster claims about the generalizability of the concurrent and predictive validity of the EATQ-R. Overall, differences between the present findings and those of Snyder et al. (2015) highlight the importance of ongoing construct validation in youth temperament research, especially with participants from groups traditionally underrepresented in psychological research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Reliability and validity of the self-report version of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire - Revised (EATQ-R) Short Form in a Turkish sample

This paper presents the first study to examine the psychometric qualities of a Turkish translation and adaptation of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire - Revised (EATQ-R). Participants included 1,109 Turkish adolescents (48.7% females) aged 11 to 15 years. Results showed that internal consistency of the broad EATQ-R factors ranged from .65 to .74, internal consistency of the 11 fine-grained scales was comparable to that reported for the original English instrument, and test-retest stability of EATQ-R scales ranged from .60 to .70. Principal axis factoring of the scales revealed a three-factor structure (Effortful Control, Surgency, and Affiliativeness) that roughly reflected the structure obtained in U.S. samples. Item-level factor analysis revealed and confirmed eight factors consistent with a priori scales. Concurrent validity, assessed through correlations between EATQ-R and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) subscales, found that Effortful Control was negatively correlated with Total Difficulties and Hyperactivity-Inattention Problems; Effortful Control, Affiliativeness, and Surgency were positively correlated with Prosocial Behaviors; and Frustration was linked to Emotional, Conduct, Hyperactivity-Inattention, and Total Difficulties. Our results suggest that the EATQ-R is a useful questionnaire to measure reactive and regulative temperamental traits in Turkish children and adolescents.

Temperamental negative affect, emotion-specific regulation, and concurrent internalizing and externalizing pathology among children with ADHD

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience high rates of temperamental negative affect and comorbid internalizing and externalizing pathology. The current study explored the role of emotion-specific regulation in accounting for the link between temperamental negative affect and psychopathology among children with ADHD. Forty parents of children ages 8-11 (N =29 males, N =11 females) completed measures of child temperament, emotion-specific dysregulation (i.e., anger dysregulation, sadness dysregulation), and psychopathology. Children completed a measure of emotion-specific dysregulation. Results revealed that anger dysregulation fully statistically accounted for the relationship between temperamental negative affect and concurrent externalizing problems. Sadness dysregulation did not account for the relationship between temperamental negative affect and internalizing problems. These novel findings implicate the robust role of anger dysregulation in explaining the link between temperamental negative affect and concurrent externalizing pathology. The results of this study have significant implications for the treatment of emotionally driven externalizing behavior among children with ADHD.