The influence of socio-economic status on child temperament and psychological symptom profiles

The influence of socio-economic status (SES) on child temperament and psychological symptoms was examined using a nationally representative sample in Singapore. Data were available for 2169 children from 1987 families. Caregivers' reports were obtained on children aged 4-6. SES was operationalized as an aggregation of household income per capita, parental education level and housing type. Compared to their counterparts from higher SES families, children from low-SES families tended to exhibit (a) higher negative affectivity but lower effortful control, and (b) higher internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In addition, children with a 'resilient' temperamental profile (i.e. low negative affectivity and high effortful control) were more likely to come from families with much higher SES, relative to children with other profiles. Children with high internalizing symptoms tended to come from low-SES backgrounds, regardless of their externalizing symptoms. Among children with low internalizing symptoms, those with high externalizing symptoms came from lower SES backgrounds compared to those with low externalizing symptoms. Parental warmth and distress mediated the association between SES and child temperament and symptom profiles, with the exception of distress in the SES-temperament link. These findings supported the family stress model and highlighted the novel perspective of SES's influence on configurations of child temperament and symptom characteristics.

Child and Maternal Factors Associated with Feeding Practices in Children with Poor Growth

The development of adequate growth and healthy eating behaviors depends on nutritious food and responsive feeding practices. Our study examined (1) the relationship between maternal concern about child weight or perceived feeding difficulties and their feeding practices, and (2) the moderating role of child temperament and maternal mental health on their feeding practices. A cross-sessional study included mother-child dyads (n = 98) from a tertiary growth and feeding clinic. Children had a mean age of 12.7 ± 5.0 months and a mean weight-for-age z-score of -2.0 ± 1.3. Responsive and controlling feeding practices were measured with the Infant Feeding Styles Questionnaire. Spearman correlation and moderation analysis were performed. Maternal concern about child weight and perceived feeding difficulties were negatively correlated with responsive feeding (r = -0.40, -0.48, p < 0.001). A greater concern about child weight or perceived feeding difficulties was associated with greater use of pressure feeding practices when effortful control was low (B = 0.49, t = 2.47, p = 0.01; B = -0.27, p = 0.008). Maternal anxiety had a significant moderation effect on the relationship between feeding difficulty and pressure feeding (B = -0.04, p = 0.009). Higher maternal concern about child weight and perceived feeding difficulties were associated with less responsive satiety feeding beliefs and behaviors. Both child effortful control and maternal anxiety influenced the relationship between weight and feeding concerns and the use of pressure feeding practices.

Mediators and moderator of the effects of early exposure to intimate partner violence on children's mental health

Childhood intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure increases the likelihood of internalizing and externalizing problems. There is substantial variability in children's outcomes following IPV exposure, but the reasons behind this are unclear, particularly among preschool-age children. The current study aimed to examine the direct and indirect effects of IPV on preschoolers' mental health through parent factors (parenting and parental depression), exploring child temperament as a potential moderator of the relation between IPV and child outcomes. Participants were 186 children (85 girls) and their parents living in the United States. Data were initially collected when children were age three, with follow-up at ages four and six. Both parents' baseline IPV perpetration had adverse effects on child outcomes. Mothers' IPV was associated with greater paternal depression, paternal overractivity, and maternal laxness, whereas fathers' IPV was associated with more paternal overreactivity. Only paternal depression mediated the effect of mothers' IPV on child outcomes. Parenting did not mediate nor did child temperament moderate the relation between IPV and child outcomes. Results shed insight into the need to address parental mental health in families experiencing IPV and underline the need for a further exploration of individual- and family-level mechanisms of adjustment following IPV exposure.

Effect of maternal eating disorders on mother-infant quality of interaction, bonding and child temperament: A longitudinal study

AIMS

This study aims to investigate the effect of maternal eating disorders (ED) on mother-infant quality of interaction at 8 weeks and bonding and child temperament at 1 and 2 years postnatally. We also aimed to explore the relationship between maternal ED psychopathology, comorbid psychiatric difficulties, and both mother-infant quality of interaction and bonding in women with ED. Women were recruited to a prospective longitudinal study. By the time of giving birth, the sample consisted of 101 women of the initial 137 (73.7%). Overall, 62 women (ED = 36; HC = 26) participated in the 8-week assessment, 42 (ED = 20; HC = 22) at 1 year, and 78 (ED = 34; HC = 44) at 2 years. Mann-Whitney U Test was used to explore association between maternal ED and mother-infant quality of interaction and between maternal ED and bonding. Spearman correlations were used to explore associations between maternal ED psychopathology, comorbid psychiatric difficulties, and both mother-infant quality of interaction and bonding.

RESULTS

We found no differences between early mother-infant interaction and bonding in mothers with ED in comparison to HC. High levels of maternal ED psychopathology were correlated with high anxiety levels, higher negative affectivity, and lower extraversion in children of ED mothers both at 1 and 2 years. Furthermore, high levels of ED psychopathology were also associated with lower effortful control at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings imply that maternal ED have an impact on child temperament. Future research should focus on resilience and on which protective factors might lead to positive outcomes. These factors can be then used as therapeutic and preventative targets.

Absence of Association between Child Temperament and Early Childhood Caries: A Cross-Sectional Study

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a worldwide public health problem. The biological and behavioural determinants that are directly involved in ECC have been well documented; however, evidence on the effects of some psychosocial factors remains conflicting. This study aimed to assess the association between child temperament and ECC in Chilean preschoolers. Prior approval of the protocol was obtained from the ethics committee of Universidad de La Frontera (Folio N° 020_17), and all of those involved in the study provided signed informed consent forms. The cross-sectional study was conducted with 172 children aged 3 to 5 years attending preschools in Temuco, Chile. Each child's temperament was assessed based on parents' responses to the Early Childhood Behaviour Questionnaire. The outcomes assessed were caries prevalence and caries experience (dmft scores). The covariates included were socioeconomic position, cariogenic diet, prolonged breastfeeding, presence of dental plaque and hypoplasia. Logistic regression models were used to predict caries prevalence and negative binomial regression for caries experience. The prevalence of ECC was 29.1%, and the most frequent child temperament was 'effortful control'. Regression model analyses, adjusting for covariates, showed no evidence of an association between any domain of children's temperament (surgency, negative affect and effortful control) with the prevalence of caries or caries experience. This cross-sectional study found no association between childhood temperament and ECC in preschool children for this population. However, due to the specificity of this population, the association cannot be entirely ruled out. Further studies are needed to help understand the association between temperament and oral health, including the influences of family environment factors and culture.

"Covid-19 is dangerous": The role of parental verbal threat information on children's fear of Covid-19

INTRODUCTION

Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that the effect of parental verbal threat information on the offspring's fear acquisition of novel stimuli may be causal. The current study investigated this verbal fear acquisition pathway from parents to children in the unique context of Covid-19 as a novel environmental threat for parents and children.

METHODS

Using an online cross-sectional survey, we collected data about fear of Covid-19, parent-child communication, parental anxiety, and child temperament, in the period between June 11th 2020 and May 28th 2021. Participants were 8 to 18-year-old children (N = 195; M_age  = 14.23; 113 girls) and their parents (N = 193; M_age  = 47.82; 146 mothers) living in the Netherlands.

RESULTS

Children of parents with stronger Covid-19 fears also reported stronger Covid-19 fears. Moreover, parents who were more fearful of Covid-19 provided more threat-related information about the virus to their children. More parental threat information in turn was related to stronger fear of Covid-19 in their children, and partly mediated the link between parent and child fear of the virus. The link between parental threat information and children's fear of Covid-19 was not moderated by child temperament or parental anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental communication about Covid-19 may play a role in children's fear acquisition of Covid-19. The lack of moderation of this link by parental anxiety and child temperament may reflect the potentially adaptive nature of verbal fear transmission during the first year of the pandemic and the nonclinical levels of fear in this community sample.

Influences of Child Temperament and Household Chaos on Preschoolers' Emotional Eating

Background: Emotional eating has been linked to child temperament and family environment factors, such as household chaos. However, few studies have examined how child and home characteristics independently and together influence children's overeating and undereating in response to negative emotions. Objective: The current study examined associations among child temperament, household chaos, and emotional eating in children 18-24 months of age, and interaction effects were also tested. Methods: The study included an analysis sample of 371 families participating in the larger STRONG Kids2 longitudinal birth cohort study (N = 468). The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire was used to assess child temperament at 18 months, and the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale was used to assess disorganization in the household at 24 months. Child emotional eating at 24 months was assessed using parental reports of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Results: Negative affectivity and household chaos were independently associated with child emotional overeating. Negative affectivity, effortful control, and household chaos were significantly associated with emotional undereating. No significant interactions were found. Conclusions: Child temperament and household environment independently influence emotional eating in young children, highlighting the need to consider these factors in early prevention. Longitudinal studies are warranted to determine mechanisms that may be involved in these relations.

Parent, child, and environmental predictors of vegetable consumption in Italian, Polish, and British preschoolers

This study compared the vegetable intake of preschool children from three European countries [Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom (UK)] and explored the parent, child, and environmental factors that predicted intake in each country. A total of 408 parents of preschoolers (Italy: N = 61, Poland: N = 124, and UK: N = 225; child mean age = 32.2 months, SD = 9.47) completed an online survey comprising a set of standardised questionnaires. For all three countries, the questionnaires included measures of children's vegetable intake (VegFFQ), child eating behaviour (CEBQ-FF), parents' mealtime goals (FMGs), and sociodemographic questions about family background and environment. In the UK and Italy, additional questionnaires were used to assess child temperament (EAS-T) and parents' feeding practices (CFPQ). The results showed that the number of child-sized portions of vegetables consumed per day varied significantly across countries; Polish children consumed the most (∼3 portions) and Italian children the least (∼1.5 portions). Between-country differences were seen in parents' goals for family mealtimes; compared to Italian parents, Polish and UK parents were more motivated to minimise mealtime stress, increase family involvement in meal preparation, and share the same foods with family members. British and Italian parents also adopted different feeding practices; parents in the UK reported more use of healthy modelling behaviours and more use of foods to support their child's emotion regulation. In terms of child factors, Italian children were reported to be more emotional and more sociable than British children. Analyses of the relationships between the parent, child, and environmental factors and children's vegetable intake revealed both similarities and differences between countries. Negative predictors of vegetable intake included child food fussiness in the UK and Poland, child temperament (especially, shyness) in Italy, and the use of food as a reward and child emotionality in the UK. Positive predictors included the parental mealtime goal of 'family involvement' in the UK. These results highlight differences in the extent to which European preschoolers achieve recommended levels of vegetable intake, and in the factors that influence whether they do. The results suggest a need to develop healthy eating interventions that are adopted to meet the specific needs of the countries in which they are implemented.

Temperament and psychopathology: The "community" to which you belong matters

We utilized a community detection approach to longitudinally (a) identify distinct groups of children with common temperament profiles in infancy and at 2 and 3 years of age and (b) determine whether co-occurrence of certain temperament traits may be early predictors of internalizing problems at 5 years of age. Seven hundred and seventy-four infants (360 girls; 88.6% White, 9.8% Hispanic, and 1.6% other races) were recruited from the Boston area. Data collection spanned from 2012 to 2021. The analysis yielded three distinct groups of children with different temperament traits and was associated with significant variation in levels of internalizing symptoms and anxiety diagnosis rate. Our findings suggest that stable temperament "communities" can be detected in early childhood and may predict risk for psychopathology later in life.

Parenting Style, Parental Personality, and Child Temperament in Children with Anxiety Disorders-A Clinical Study from India

BACKGROUND

Anxiety disorders are common in children and contribute to adverse developmental outcomes. Although etiological models of child anxiety have identified various environmental factors, very few studies in India have examined these factors in children presenting with anxiety disorders. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine parenting styles, parental personality, and child temperament in children with anxiety disorders in an Indian outpatient setting.

METHODS

In total, 42 children with anxiety disorders and 42 typically developing children, matched on age and gender, were screened using Child Behavior Checklist, Color Progressive Matrices, and Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Parent version. Their parents were screened using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0, following which they filled the questionnaires for parenting styles, parent personality, and child temperament.

RESULTS

There were significant differences between the two groups on parenting style, parent personality, and child temperament. Anxiety disorder was positively associated with the father's permissiveness and negatively with the mother's authoritativeness and child's sociability. A combination of parenting styles and child temperament explained 69% of the variances in child anxiety disorders. There were significant associations between parental personality, child temperament, and parenting style. Parent and child characteristics explained 14%-46% of the variances in parenting styles.

CONCLUSION

Results of this study are generally consistent with Western studies outlining the influence of child temperament and parenting styles on child outcome and have important implications for clinical management of anxiety disorders.

Knowledge of Infant Development and Parent Well-Being: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Toddlers

OBJECTIVE

Knowledge about child development is associated with parenting and children's outcomes. Parents with less accurate knowledge about developmental milestones may have unrealistic expectations for their child's behavior, which may affect parent well-being. Limited research has examined this topic relative to depression, but other aspects of parent well-being (e.g., parenting stress) are unexplored.

METHODS

Cross-sectional analysis of an ongoing prospective cohort study of 300 families in central Ohio enrolled when children were a mean (SD) calendar age of 18.2 (0.7) months. Children of all gestational ages at birth are included, and 37% were born preterm (<37 weeks' gestation.) Primary caregivers (93% mothers) completed the 20-item Knowledge of Infant Development Index (KIDI) and questionnaires for child temperament and 3 aspects of parent well-being (depressive and anxious symptoms, parenting stress, and general health). Covariate-adjusted regression models assessed relationships between the KIDI score and each well-being outcome. We hypothesized that parents with less knowledge would have more symptoms of depression and anxiety, greater parenting stress, and poorer health. Whether associations were stronger for parents of children born preterm or who had high negative affect was explored.

RESULTS

Knowledge of Infant Development Index scores were associated with sociodemographic characteristics, child temperament, and gestational age (more knowledge: higher socioeconomic position, less child negative affect, and full-term birth). KIDI scores did not predict any aspect of parent well-being, and there was no evidence that child temperament or preterm birth altered these findings.

CONCLUSION

In this sample of parents of toddlers assessed in 2018/19, greater knowledge of infant development was not associated with parent well-being.

Infants' stress responses and protest behaviors at childcare entry and the role of care providers

During the transition from home to childcare, 70 15-month-old infants were videotaped, and their negative emotions were rated. Infants' attachments to mothers were assessed prior to child care entry and to care providers five months later using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP). Infant heart rate was monitored at home, during adaptation to childcare (mothers present), and during subsequent separations. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was computed from the beat-to-beat measures of heart rate to reflect vagal tone, which is reduced during chronic states of stress, and was collected upon Arrival, during in-group Play, and when in the Group more generally. All infants responded to childcare entry with low RSA levels indicating stress. However, during adaptation with the mother present, RSA was higher for securely attached infants. On the first separation day, 35.3% of the infants fussed and cried extensively. These intense protests predicted later secure attachments to care providers, which adaptively helped to reduce stress, especially in infants who protested extensively, as if summoning their mothers back. Because extensive protest suggests limited regulatory capacities, infants risk overburdening the stress system when left unsupported.

Taking parent personality and child temperament into account in child language development

Individual differences have become increasingly important in the study of child development and language. However, despite the important role parents play in children's language, no work has examined how parent personality impacts language development. The current study examines the impact of parent personality as well as child temperament on language development in 460 16- to 30-month-old children and 328 31- to 42-month-old children. Findings from both groups suggest multiple aspects of children's language abilities are correlated with their parent's personality. Specifically, parent consciousness, openness, and agreeableness positively correlate with child vocabulary size and other language abilities. Results also replicate and expand research on child temperament and language - child effortful control and surgency were positively correlated, and negative affect negatively correlated with most language abilities even after controlling for parent personality. Critically, parent and child traits appear to impact a child's language abilities above and beyond well-known predictors of language, such as age.

Behavioral Inhibition in Childhood: European Portuguese Adaptation of an Observational Measure (Lab-TAB)

The assessment of behaviorally inhibited children is typically based on parent or teacher reports, but this approach has received criticisms, mainly for being prone to bias. Several researchers proposed the additional use of observational methods because they provide a direct and more objective description of the child's functioning in different contexts. The lack of a laboratory assessment of temperament for Portuguese children justifies the adaptation of some episodes of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) as an observational measure for behavioral inhibition. Method: In our study, we included 124 children aged between 3 and 9 years and their parents. The evaluation of child behavioral inhibition was made by parent report (Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire) and through Lab-TAB episodes. Parental variables with potential influence on parents’ reports were also collected using the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS) and the Parental Overprotection Measure (POM). Results and Discussion: The psychometric analyses provided evidence that Lab-TAB is a reliable instrument and can be incorporated in a multi-method approach to assess behavioral inhibition in studies involving Portuguese-speaking children. Moderate convergence between observational and parent report measures of behavioral inhibition was obtained. Mothers’ characteristics, as well as child age, seem to significantly affect differences between measures, being potential sources of bias in the assessment of child temperament.

Early Detection of Temperament Risk Factors: A Comparison of Clinically Referred and General Population Children

Despite an extensive literature on associations between early childhood temperament and behavior problems, most of this evidence is based on general population samples. Hence, relatively little is known about the temperament characteristics of children who have been referred for in- or outpatient treatment of emotional and/or behavioral problems. Whether temperament-to-behavior problems identified in community samples would also be found in samples of clinically referred children is poorly understood. To redress this limitation, we compared temperament attributes of a predominantly preschool-aged sample of children referred for treatment of emotional and/or behavioral disorders (N = 87) with those from a similarly-aged general population sample (N = 85) by using the Integrative Child Temperament Screener (ICTS)-a new nine-item scale to identify clinically significant temperament attributes. Behavioral symptoms in the clinical sample were assessed through diagnostic interviews in combination with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), which was also administered to the general population children. Compared with general population children, referred children exhibited substantially higher scores on all ICTS subscales except behavioral inhibition. Furthermore, areas under the curve analyses showed that discrimination of both groups based on CBCL scales could be improved by adding the ICTS. Overall, the findings fill a long-standing gap in evidence regarding temperament characteristics of children with serious emotional and/or behavioral symptoms and suggest a useful role for the ICTS in assessment, screening, and prevention.

Children's Road-Crossing Behavior: Emotional Decision Making and Emotion-Based Temperamental Fear and Anger

OBJECTIVE

Child pedestrian injuries represent a global public health burden. To date, most research on psychosocial factors affecting children's risk of pedestrian injury focused on cognitive aspects of children's functioning in traffic. Recent evidence suggests, however, that emotional aspects such as temperament-based fear and anger/frustration, as well as executive function-based emotional decision making, may also affect children's safety in traffic. This study examined the role of emotions on children's pedestrian behavior. Three hypotheses were considered: (a) emotion-based temperament factors of fear and anger/frustration will predict children's risky decisions and behaviors; (b) emotional decision making will predict risky pedestrian decisions and behaviors; and (c) children's pedestrian decision making will mediate relations between emotion and risky pedestrian behavior. The role of gender was also considered.

METHODS

In total, 140 6- to 7-year-old children (M = 6.7 years, SD = 0.39; 51% girls) participated. Parent-report subscales of Child Behavior Questionnaire measured temperamental fear and anger/frustration. The Hungry Donkey Task, a modified version of Iowa Gambling Task for children, measured children's emotional decision making, and a mobile virtual reality pedestrian environment measured child pedestrian behavior.

RESULTS

Greater anger/frustration, lesser fear, and more emotional decision making all predicted poorer pedestrian decision making. The mediational model demonstrated that pedestrian decision making, as assessed by delays entering safe traffic gaps, mediated the relation between emotion and risky pedestrian behavior. Analyses stratified by gender showed stronger mediation results for girls than for boys.

CONCLUSIONS

These results support the influence of emotions on child pedestrian behavior and reinforce the need to incorporate emotion regulation training into child pedestrian education programs.

Maternal alcohol dependence and harsh caregiving across parenting contexts: The moderating role of child negative emotionality

Parental alcohol dependence is a significant risk factor for harsh caregiving behaviors; however, it is unknown whether and how harsh caregiving changes over time and across parenting contexts for alcohol-dependent mothers. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no studies have examined whether and how distinct dimensions of child characteristics, such as negative emotionality modulate harsh caregiving among alcohol-dependent mothers. Guided by parenting process models, the present study examined how two distinct domains of children's negative emotionality-fear and frustration-moderate the association between maternal alcohol dependence and maternal harshness across discipline and free-play contexts. A high-risk sample of 201 mothers and their two-year-old children were studied over a one-year period. Results from latent difference score analyses indicated that harsh parenting among alcohol-dependent mothers increased over time in the more stressful discipline context, but not in the parent-child play context. This effect was maintained even after controlling for other parenting risk factors, including other forms of maternal psychopathology. Furthermore, this increase in harsh parenting was specific to alcohol-dependent mothers whose children were displaying high levels of anger and frustration. Findings provide support for specificity in conceptualizations of child negative emotionality and parenting contexts as potential determinants of maladaptive caregiving among alcohol-dependent mothers.

Perinatal anxiety and depressive symptoms and perception of child behavior and temperament in early motherhood

The perinatal period is a vulnerable time for the development of psychopathology, particularly mood and anxiety disorders. In the study of maternal anxiety, important questions remain regarding the association between maternal anxiety symptoms and subsequent child outcomes. This study examined the association between depressive and anxiety symptoms, namely social anxiety, panic, and agoraphobia disorder symptoms during the perinatal period and maternal perception of child behavior, specifically different facets of development and temperament. Participants (N = 104) were recruited during pregnancy from a community sample. Participants completed clinician-administered and self-report measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 16 months postpartum; child behavior and temperament outcomes were assessed at 16 months postpartum. Child development areas included gross and fine motor skills, language and problem-solving abilities, and personal/social skills. Child temperament domains included surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that elevated prenatal social anxiety symptoms significantly predicted more negative maternal report of child behavior across most measured domains. Elevated prenatal social anxiety and panic symptoms predicted more negative maternal report of child effortful control. Depressive and agoraphobia symptoms were not significant predictors of child outcomes. Elevated anxiety symptoms appear to have a distinct association with maternal report of child development and temperament. Considering the relative influence of anxiety symptoms, particularly social anxiety, on maternal report of child behavior and temperament can help to identify potential difficulties early on in mother-child interactions as well as inform interventions for women and their families.

Mother-child role confusion, child adjustment problems, and the moderating roles of child temperament and sex

Role confusion is a deviation in the parent-child relationship such that a parent looks to a child to meet the parent's emotional needs and abdicates, in part, the parental role in exchange for care, intimacy, or peer support from the child. In addition, a child may initiate role-confused behavior in order to gain closeness to a parent who is otherwise preoccupied by his or her own needs. The current study examined associations between mother-child role confusion at age 5 (we coded role confusion from filmed free-play mother-child interactions) and teacher reports of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and peer problems, at Grade 1. The sample (N = 557) is from a longitudinal study of families in rural communities, the Family Life Project. Mother-child role confusion predicted internalizing symptoms and peer problems (but not externalizing symptoms) above and beyond other dimensions of maternal parenting (sensitivity and harsh intrusiveness), demographic factors, and prior levels of outcome variables. However, some effect sizes were small, making replication desirable. Temperament and child sex were important moderators: girls with difficult temperaments and boys with easy temperaments were more vulnerable to internalizing symptoms (but not externalizing symptoms or peer problems) in the context of role confusion. We discuss the singular importance of role confusion, a construct that has been largely unrecognized by developmental psychologists until recently, for behavioral outcomes of children as they transition into middle childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record

Associations between observed temperament in preschoolers and parent psychopathology

Parent history of psychopathology is an established marker of children's own risk for later disorder and can therefore be used as a means of validating other risks, such as child temperament. While associations between children's temperament and parent psychopathology have been reported, few studies have used observational measures of child temperament or examined trait interactions, particularly between children's affective and regulatory traits such as effortful control (EC). In this bottom-up family study of 968 three-year-olds and their parents, we examined interactions between preschoolers' observed positive and negative affectivity (NA) and EC as predictors of a known marker of psychopathology risk: parent history of disorder. Children with lower positive affectivity had an increased probability of paternal depression history in the context of higher child NA. In addition, children with lower EC and higher NA had an increased probability of maternal anxiety. Findings shed new light on the main effects and interactions that account for associations between child temperament and parent history of disorder, one of the best-established markers of an individual's own risk for future disorder, implicating reactive and regulatory traits that merit special consideration in future longitudinal work. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Predictors of the Association Between Age 3 and Age 6 Behavioural Inhibition

Children who exhibit elevated levels of the temperament trait behavioural inhibition (BI) across time may be at greatest risk for anxiety. However, little research has investigated the influence of other temperamental traits, particularly positive emotionality (PE), on the continuity of BI in childhood, nor whether parental overprotection influences associations between early and later child BI. To explore whether PE and overprotection shape associations between early and later BI, this longitudinal study of three-year-olds (N = 446) followed up at age 6 included tasks tapping child temperament, and parental overprotection was assessed via interview ratings and parent-report. Lower levels of child PE and higher levels of caregiver overprotection at baseline predicted stronger associations between laboratory-assessed BI at ages 3 and 6. Findings elucidate influences shaping the developmental continuity of BI.

Determinants of father involvement with young children: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort

The current study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B; Snow et al., 2007) to explore determinants of resident father involvement. Families (N = 2,900) were measured at 3 time points (9 months, 2 years, and 4 years of age). Father, mother, and child factors were examined in relation to father caregiving and play. Latent change score models indicated that fathers engaged in more caregiving and play behaviors and increased at a faster rate when they more strongly identified with their role as a father. Fathers engaged in more caregiving when mothers reported higher depressive symptoms and increased in play more slowly when marital conflict was higher. In addition, a Mother Depressive Symptoms × Marital Conflict interaction emerged indicating that fathers differed in their levels of caregiving depending on mothers' report of depressive symptoms, but only when marital conflict was low. Fathers also increased in caregiving at a faster rate with girls than boys. A comprehensive framework for examining resident father involvement is presented.

Disagreement between parents on assessment of child temperament traits

BACKGROUND

Accuracy of temperament assessment is a prerequisite in research studies. To identify the extent to which parental assessment of child temperament is biased by their personal attributes, we proposed a new structural equation model, in which biases of parental attributes in their assessment of child temperament can be separated from the true (i.e. non-biased) associations between the two.

METHODS

We examined 234 father-mother pairs using questionnaires including Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Impulsivity; Social Desirability Scale; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Temperament and Character Inventory; and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory.

RESULTS

Paternal Depression and Persistence, maternal Trait Anger, and parental Novelty Seeking showed significant bias in assessment of Emotionality. Maternal Self-transcendence showed significant bias in assessment of child Impulsivity.

CONCLUSION

Researchers should be cautious about biases in parental assessment of children's Emotionality and Impulsivity, but other temperament traits may be free from such biases.

Perinatal Maternal Mental Health, Fetal Programming and Child Development

Maternal mental disorders over pregnancy show a clear influence on child development. This review is focused on the possible mechanisms by which maternal mental disorders influence fetal development via programming effects. This field is complex since mental health symptoms during pregnancy vary in type, timing and severity and maternal psychological distress is often accompanied by higher rates of smoking, alcohol use, poor diet and lifestyle. Studies are now beginning to examine fetal programming mechanisms, originally identified within the DOHaD framework, to examine how maternal mental disorders impact fetal development. Such mechanisms include hormonal priming effects such as elevated maternal glucocorticoids, alteration of placental function and perfusion, and epigenetic mechanisms. To date, mostly high prevalence mental disorders such as depression and anxiety have been investigated, but few studies employ diagnostic measures, and there is very little research examining the impact of maternal mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and personality disorders on fetal development. The next wave of longitudinal studies need to focus on specific hypotheses driven by plausible biological mechanisms for fetal programming and follow children for a sufficient period in order to examine the early manifestations of developmental vulnerability. Intervention studies can then be targeted to altering these mechanisms of intergenerational transmission once identified.

Positive Parenting Interacts with Child Temperament and Negative Parenting to Predict Children's Socially Appropriate Behavior

This study examined the effects of parents' positive and negative affect and behavior while interacting with their preschool child and the moderating role of child temperament in predicting children's subsequent difficulty with socially appropriate behavior around school-entry. Independent observational measures were used to assess child temperament (dysphoria; exuberance) and parenting at age 3, and multi-informant reports of child socially appropriate behavior were collected at age 6 (N = 219). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that children's temperamental dysphoria moderated the relationship between positive parenting and later socially appropriate behavior. High- and low-dysphoric children trended in opposite directions; highly dysphoric children experienced greater difficulty with socially appropriate behavior as levels of positive parenting increased, whereas low-dysphoric children experienced less difficulty with socially appropriate behavior with higher levels of positive parenting. There was also an interaction between positive and negative parenting, whereby the combination of elevated positive and negative parenting predicted children's later difficulty with socially appropriate behavior. The findings suggest that positive parenting interacts with early child temperament and negative parenting to impact the development of children's socially appropriate behavior.

Child temperamental reactivity and self-regulation effects on attentional biases

This study examined the effects of individual differences in temperamental reactivity (fear) and self-regulation (attentional control) on attentional biases toward threat in a sample of school-aged children (age range was between 9 years 1 month and 13 years 10 months). Attentional biases were assessed with pictorial Dot-probe task, comparing attention allocation toward angry (threat-related) vs. neutral and happy faces. Children also completed self-report temperamental measures of fear and attentional control. We compared attentional bias scores in 4 groups of children: high/low fear and high/low attentional control. Results indicated that, in the case of children with high fear and low attentional control, attention was significantly biased toward angry faces compared with children who had low fear and low attentional control. Findings are discussed in terms of the moderating role of individual differences in attentional control in the context of threat, anxiety-related attentional biases in children.

The influence of maternal optimality and infant temperament on parenting stress at 12 months among mothers with substance abuse and psychiatric problems

The present prospective longitudinal study aimed to investigate the long-term impact of maternal optimality assessed during pregnancy on parenting stress at infant age 12 months. In this study the concept of optimality was utilized to investigate maternal variations regarding resources during pregnancy in relation to later parenting stress, among three different groups of mothers that were recruited from substance abuse treatment, psychiatric outpatient treatment and well-baby clinics respectively. The influence of infant temperament on parenting stress was also examined. All mothers were interviewed during pregnancy. At 12 months, infant temperament (Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory; Rowe & Plomin, 1977) and stress in the parent and child domain (Parenting Stress Index; Abidin, 1955) were assessed. Results demonstrated higher levels of parenting stress among mothers in the clinical groups, compared to the non-clinical group. Furthermore, it was the maternal psychiatric optimality index in combination with child temperament characteristics (child emotionality) that contributed uniquely to stress in the parent domain, while stress in the child domain was significantly associated only with child temperament characteristics (both child emotionality and soothability). The association between maternal psychiatric optimality assessed in pregnancy, infant temperament and parenting stress when the infants were 12 months old, points to the importance of simultaneously addressing the mothers' own psychological distress, and to support positive mother-infant interactions. Each woman's individual optimality profile may be used to display needs of follow-up in order to prevent enduring effects of non-optimality on parenting stress.

Comparisons of levels and predictors of mothers' and fathers' engagement with their preschool aged children

Self-report data from 112 two-parent families were used to compare levels and predictors of four types of mothers' and fathers' engagement with their preschool aged children: socialization, didactic, caregiving, and physical play. Mothers were more involved than fathers in socialization, didactic, and caregiving, whereas fathers were more involved than mothers in physical play. Mothers' greatest engagement was in caregiving, whereas fathers were about equally engaged in didactic, caregiving, and physical play. Mothers who contributed more to family income were less engaged in socialization and caregiving, whereas fathers with nontraditional beliefs about their roles were more engaged in didactic and caregiving. Children with greater temperamental effortful control received more didactic and physical play engagement from mothers. Fathers were more likely to engage in socialization activities with earlier-born children, whereas mothers were more likely to engage in socialization with girls high in effortful control. Mothers were more likely to engage in physical play with boys and with later-born children.

Birth characteristics and developmental outcomes of infants of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers: Risk and promotive factors

Infants of adolescent mothers are at increased risk for negative developmental outcomes. Given the high rate of pregnancy among Mexican-origin adolescent females in the US, the present study examined health characteristics at birth and developmental functioning at 10 months of age in a sample of 205 infants of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers. Infants were relatively healthy at birth and had near average developmental functioning at 10 months. The educational attainment of adolescents and their mothers, and infants' temperamental regulation, promoted positive developmental functioning, while the combination of low adolescent parental self-efficacy and high infant temperamental negativity was associated with greater developmental delay. Findings are discussed with respect to implications for prevention with this at-risk population of mothers and infants.

Can Mothers Predict Childhood Behavioural Inhibition in Early Infancy?

BACKGROUND

  Focusing on early identification of developmental risk factors, this study examined the question whether maternal report of child behaviour during early infancy is related to a laboratory measure of behavioural inhibition at 14 months of age.

METHOD

  A sample of 101 mother-infant pairs was recruited from local obstetric units. The Infant Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ) was presented at 4 months postnatal age. Child behavioural inhibition was assessed at 14 months in a laboratory procedure.

RESULTS

  Infant distress to novelty as measured by the IBQ at 4 months postnatal age was found to be associated with toddler's fear score/behavioural inhibition at 14 months (p = .003). Distress-to-limitations subscore, smile/laughter subscore, activity subscore, and soothability subscore of the IBQ showed no correlation with behavioural inhibition.

CONCLUSIONS

  Behavioural inhibition, as a potential risk factor for childhood shyness and anxiety, can be predicted by maternal judgment of infant distress to novelty at age 4 months. The Infant Behaviour Questionnaire therefore might be used to identify infants presumably at risk for childhood anxiety disorders.

Parental beliefs, infant temperament, and marital quality: associations with infant-mother and infant-father attachment

The present research examined parental beliefs about the importance of the paternal caregiving role, mothers' and fathers' reports of infant temperament, and observed marital quality as predictors of infant-mother and infant-father attachment security, over and above the effects of parental sensitivity. Infants' attachment security to mothers and fathers were observed in the Strange Situation at 12 and 13 months, respectively (N = 62 two-parent families). Hierarchical regression models revealed that mothers who viewed the paternal caregiving role as important were less likely to have securely attached infants, but only when infant fussiness was high. In addition, fathers who viewed the paternal caregiving role as important were more likely to have securely attached infants, but only when infants' fussiness or marital quality was high.

Clinical Implications of Temperamental Characteristics in Young Children with Developmental Disabilities

Temperament refers to the behavioral style of an individual, or the tendency to behave in a certain way in a certain situation. Although temperament has been studied extensively in typically developing children, relatively little research concerning individual differences in the behavioral styles of young children with developmental disabilities has been conducted. The purposes of this article are: (1) to provide a brief review of the literature with regard to temperament and outcomes for children with developmental disabilities and, (2) to explore methods for integrating temperament information into early intervention practice. Consistent with the research on temperament and goodness of fit (Chess & Thomas, 1996), this article proposes that children with developmental disabilities who present with extreme scores in specific domains of temperament may benefit from specific early intervention practices. Ideas for linking practice with child temperament are presented, particularly for children who are resistant to change, non-persistent, or difficult to distract.