Temperament and School Readiness - A Literature Review

Does early child negative emotionality moderate the association between maternal stimulation and academic readiness and achievement?

We investigated whether child temperament (negative emotionality, 5 months) moderated the association between maternal stimulation (5 months-2½ years) and academic readiness and achievement (vocabulary, mathematics, and reading). We applied structural equation modeling to the data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (N = 1121-1448; mostly Whites; 47% girls). Compared to children with low negative emotionality, those with high negative emotionality had higher levels of academic readiness (6 years) and mathematics achievement (7 years) when exposed to high levels of maternal stimulation (β = 3.17, p < .01 and β = 2.91, p < .01, respectively). The results support the differential susceptibility model whereby highly emotionally negative children were more susceptible to the influences of low and high levels of maternal stimulation in academic readiness and mathematics achievement's developments.

A social-ecological model of preschoolers' aggressive behavior: An exploratory analysis

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; Mage = 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. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Association between atopic dermatitis and school readiness in preschool children

BACKGROUND

Although atopic dermatitis (AD) in children affects diverse stages of life, no studies have reported on the association between school readiness and AD.

METHODS

This study used Korean National Health Insurance data and the Health Screening Program for Infants and Children. Among all children born between 2008 and 2012 in Korea, those who were assessed for school readiness through questionnaires in a health screening program performed at 54 and 60 months old were enrolled. AD was defined based on the International Classification of Diseases codes, with two or more prescriptions of topical corticosteroids during the first 54-60 months of life. The primary outcome was the association between school readiness and AD. The questionnaire relating to school readiness comprised six items - cognitive skills, social development, activeness, concentration, emotional development, and language skills. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the associations between school readiness and AD.

RESULTS

This study included 239,673 children without AD and 38,229 children with AD. The average age at which school readiness was assessed was 4.8 years. AD was associated with vulnerability in activeness (adjusted odds ratio: 1.127; 95% confidence interval: 1.071-1.186) and concentrations (1.170; 1.093-1.254). The impact of AD on concentrations showed consistent results regardless of sex, exposure to systemic corticosteroids and antihistamines, and age at the diagnosis of AD.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with AD have vulnerability in school readiness in the aspects of activeness and concentration.

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

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.

Basal Stimulation as Developmental Support in At-Risk Newborns: A Literature Review

BACKGROUND

The aim of this review of the literature was to find and summarize relevant research evidence available within the scientific sources and gray literature in accordance with the JBI recommendations. Search question: What effect does Basal Stimulation have on the cognitive-behavioral functions or temperament of a preterm or disabled infant?

METHODS

The following sources were searched: PSYCINFO, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, ERIC, Wiley Online Library, ProQuest Scopus, WOS, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and MedNar. The study contains an analysis of texts that have been published in the English, Czech, and German languages. The search time span was set at 15 years.

RESULTS

A total of 15 sources were found for the specified topic.

CONCLUSIONS

In all cases, there was confirmation about the positive influence of the concept of "Basal Stimulation" on the cognitive-behavioral functions and temperament of premature and disabled children.

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

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.