scholarly journals The Stability of Temperament from Early Childhood to Early Adolescence: A Multi–Method, Multi–Informant Examination

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Kopala–Sibley ◽  
Thomas Olino ◽  
Emily Durbin ◽  
Margaret W. Dyson ◽  
Daniel N. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Psychological Functioning ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Effortful Control ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Positive Emotionality ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Convergent And Divergent Validity ◽  
The Stability

Temperament is a core aspect of children's psychological functioning and is assumed to be at least somewhat stable across childhood. However, little research has assessed the stability of temperament from early childhood to early adolescence. Moreover, few studies have examined the influence of measurement and analytic methods on the stability of early temperament over periods of more than a few years. We obtained laboratory observations and mother and father reports of temperamental negative and positive emotionality and effortful control from 559 three–year–olds. Approximately nine years later, children and both parents completed questionnaire measures of similar temperament constructs. Zero–order correlations revealed greater within–informant than cross–informant stability. In addition, compared with parent reports, early childhood laboratory measures showed greater convergent and divergent validity with child, mother, and father reports at age 12. Finally, latent temperament variables at age 3 composed of laboratory and parent–report measures and latent variables at age 12 composed of parent and child reports showed moderate stability. There was also a weak but significant association of early effortful control with later negative and positive emotionality. Results have implications for assessing temperament and knowledge of the stability of temperament across childhood. Copyright © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Are All Kids Alike? The Magnitude of Individual Differences in Personality Characteristics Tends to Increase from Early Childhood to Early Adolescence

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Mõttus ◽  
Christopher J. Soto ◽  
Helena R. Slobodskaya ◽  
Mitja Back
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
The Usa

Do individual differences in personality traits become more or less pronounced over childhood and adolescence? The present research examined age differences in the variance of a range of personality traits, using parent reports of two large samples of children from predominantly the USA and Russia, respectively. Results indicate (i) that individual differences in most traits tend to increase with age from early childhood into early adolescence and then plateau, (ii) that this general pattern of greater personality variance at older childhood age is consistent across the two countries, and (iii) that this pattern is not an artefact of age differences in means or floor/ceiling effects. These findings are consistent with several (noncontradictory) developmental mechanisms, including youths’ expanding behavioural capacities and person–environment transactions (corresponsive principle). However, these mechanisms may predominantly characterize periods before adolescence, or they may be offset by countervailing processes, such as socialization pressure towards a mature personality profile, in late adolescence and adulthood. Finally, the findings also suggest that interpreting age trajectories in mean trait scores as pertaining to age differences in a typical person may sometimes be misleading. Investigating variance should become an integral part of studying personality development. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Parenting and the development of effortful control from early childhood to early adolescence: A transactional developmental model

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 837-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey S. Tiberio ◽  
Deborah M. Capaldi ◽  
David C. R. Kerr ◽  
Maria Bertrand ◽  
Katherine C. Pears ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Effortful Control ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Bidirectional Association ◽  
Child Effortful Control ◽  
Bidirectional Effects

AbstractPoor effortful control is a key temperamental factor underlying behavioral problems. The bidirectional association of child effortful control with both positive parenting and negative discipline was examined from ages approximately 3 to 13–14 years, involving five time points, and using data from parents and children in the Oregon Youth Study—Three Generational Study (N= 318 children from 150 families). Based on a dynamic developmental systems approach, it was hypothesized that there would be concurrent associations between parenting and child effortful control and bidirectional effects across time from each aspect of parenting to effortful control and from effortful control to each aspect of parenting. It was also hypothesized that associations would be more robust in early childhood, from ages 3 to 7 years, and would diminish as indicated by significantly weaker effects at the older ages, 11–12 to 13–14 years. Longitudinal feedback or mediated effects were also tested. The findings supported (a) stability in each construct over multiple developmental periods; (b) concurrent associations, which were significantly weaker at the older ages; (c) bidirectional effects, consistent with the interpretation that at younger ages children's effortful control influenced parenting, whereas at older child ages, parenting influenced effortful control; and (d) a transactional effect, such that maternal parenting in late childhood was a mechanism explaining children's development of effortful control from middle childhood to early adolescence.

scholarly journals A Longitudinal Study of the Relation between Childhood Activities and Psychosocial Adjustment in Early Adolescence

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5299
Author(s):  
Rosa S. Wong ◽  
Keith T. S. Tung ◽  
Nirmala Rao ◽  
Frederick K. W. Ho ◽  
Ko Ling Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Internalizing Symptoms ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Child Play ◽  
Externalizing And Internalizing Problems ◽  
Parent Child

Background: Although an increasing body of research shows that excessive screen time could impair brain development, whereas non-screen recreational activities can promote the development of adaptive emotion regulation and social skills, there is a lack of comparative research on this topic. Hence, this study examined whether and to what extent the frequency of early-life activities predicted later externalizing and internalizing problems. Methods: In 2012/13, we recruited Kindergarten 3 (K3) students from randomly selected kindergartens in two districts of Hong Kong and collected parent-report data on children’s screen activities and parent–child activities. In 2018/19, we re-surveyed the parents of 323 students (aged 11 to 13 years) with question items regarding their children’s externalizing and internalizing symptoms in early adolescence. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between childhood activities and psychosocial problems in early adolescence. Results: Early-life parent–child activities (β = −0.14, p = 0.012) and child-alone screen use duration (β = 0.15, p = 0.007) independently predicted externalizing problems in early adolescence. Their associations with video game exposure (β = 0.19, p = 0.004) and non-screen recreational parent–child activities (β = −0.14, p = 0.004) were particularly strong. Conclusions: Parent–child play time is important for healthy psychosocial development. More efforts should be directed to urge parents and caregivers to replace child-alone screen time with parent–child play time.

scholarly journals Dispositional individual differences in cognitive effort investment: establishing the core construct

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Kührt ◽  
Sebastian Pannasch ◽  
Stefan J. Kiebel ◽  
Alexander Strobel
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Latent Variables ◽  
Effortful Control ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Behavioral Measures ◽  
Effort Discounting ◽  
Cognitive Motivation ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

Abstract Background Individuals tend to avoid effortful tasks, regardless of whether they are physical or mental in nature. Recent experimental evidence is suggestive of individual differences in the dispositional willingness to invest cognitive effort in goal-directed behavior. The traits need for cognition (NFC) and self-control are related to behavioral measures of cognitive effort discounting and demand avoidance, respectively. Given that these traits are only moderately related, the question arises whether they reflect a common core factor underlying cognitive effort investment. If so, the common core of both traits might be related to behavioral measures of effort discounting in a more systematic fashion. To address this question, we aimed at specifying a core construct of cognitive effort investment that reflects dispositional differences in the willingness and tendency to exert effortful control. Methods We conducted two studies (N = 613 and N = 244) with questionnaires related to cognitive motivation and effort investment including assessment of NFC, intellect, self-control and effortful control. We first calculated Pearson correlations followed by two mediation models regarding intellect and its separate aspects, seek and conquer, as mediators. Next, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis of a hierarchical model of cognitive effort investment as second-order latent variable. First-order latent variables were cognitive motivation reflecting NFC and intellect, and effortful self-control reflecting self-control and effortful control. Finally, we calculated Pearson correlations between factor scores of the latent variables and general self-efficacy as well as traits of the Five Factor Model of Personality for validation purposes. Results Our findings support the hypothesized correlations between the assessed traits, where the relationship of NFC and self-control is specifically mediated via goal-directedness. We established and replicated a hierarchical factor model of cognitive motivation and effortful self-control that explains the shared variance of the first-order factors by a second-order factor of cognitive effort investment. Conclusions Taken together, our results integrate disparate literatures on cognitive motivation and self-control and provide a basis for further experimental research on the role of dispositional individual differences in goal-directed behavior and cost–benefit-models.

Development of an Empathy Rating Scale for Young Children

Assessment ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107319112110386
Author(s):  
Eva R. Kimonis ◽  
Natasha Jain ◽  
Bryan Neo ◽  
Georgette E. Fleming ◽  
Nancy Briggs
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Empathy Scale ◽  
Item Scores ◽  
Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Empathy is critical to young children’s socioemotional development and deficient levels characterize a severe and pervasive type of Conduct Disorder (i.e., with limited prosocial emotions). With the emergence of novel, targeted early interventions to treat this psychopathology, the critical limitations of existing parent-report empathy measures reveal their unsuitability for assessing empathy levels and outcomes in young children. The present study aimed to develop a reliable and comprehensive parent-rated empathy scale for young children. This was accomplished by first generating a large list of empathy items sourced from both preexisting empathy measures and from statements made by parents during a clinical interview about their young child’s empathy. Second, this item set was refined using exploratory factor analysis of item scores from parents of children aged 2 to 8 years (56.6% male), recruited online using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. A five-factor solution provided the best fit to the data: Attention to Others’ Emotions, Personal Distress (i.e., Emotional Contagion/Affective Empathy), Personal Distress–Fictional Characters, Prosocial Behavior, and Sympathy. Total and subscale scores on the new “Measure of Empathy in Early Childhood” (MEEC) were internally consistent. Finally, this five-factor structure was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and model fit was adequate. With further research into the validity of MEEC scores, this new rater-based empathy measure for young children may hold promise for assessing empathy in early childhood and advancing research into the origins of empathy and empathy-related disorders.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Predictors of Anxiety in Early Adolescence

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 1121-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Hudson ◽  
Kou Murayama ◽  
Lotte Meteyard ◽  
Talia Morris ◽  
Helen F. Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Childhood Predictors

scholarly journals Early Childhood Psychopathology Prospectively Predicts Social Functioning in Early Adolescence

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan C. Finsaas ◽  
Ellen M. Kessel ◽  
Lea R. Dougherty ◽  
Sara J. Bufferd ◽  
Allison P. Danzig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Childhood Psychopathology

The Hierarchical Structure of Childhood Personality in Five Countries: Continuity From Early Childhood to Early Adolescence

2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Tackett ◽  
Helena R. Slobodskaya ◽  
Raymond A. Mar ◽  
James Deal ◽  
Charles F. Halverson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
The Hierarchical Structure

scholarly journals The Structure of Adolescent Temperament and Associations with Psychological Functioning: A Replication and Extension of Snyder et al. (2015)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Lawson ◽  
Olivia E. Atherton ◽  
Richard W. Robins
Keyword(s):  
Relational Aggression ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Psychological Functioning ◽  
Effortful Control ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Original Study ◽  
Latent Factors ◽  
Using Data ◽  
R Factors ◽  
Adolescent Functioning

The present study attempts to replicate and extend Snyder et al. (2015, JPSP). The original study examined the latent factor structure of the EATQ-R, a commonly used measure of adolescent temperament, and then showed that the resulting latent factors (i.e., Effortful Control, Negative Emotionality, and Positive Emotionality) had theoretically meaningful concurrent associations with various measures of adolescent functioning (depression, anxiety, 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 model fit reported in the original study but poor replication of the correlations among latent factors. Additionally, model comparisons demonstrated that correlated factors models led to more interpretable factors than the bifactor models. In contrast, we replicated most, but not all, 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, meaningful differences between the present findings and those of Snyder et al. highlight the importance of ongoing construct validation in youth temperament research, especially with participants from groups traditionally underrepresented in psychological research.

scholarly journals Sleep and Coping in Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanna Lokhandwala ◽  
Jennifer F. Holmes ◽  
Gina M. Mason ◽  
Christine W. St. Laurent ◽  
Cassandra Delvey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Stressful Event ◽  
Falling Asleep ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Children's Coping ◽  
The Stability ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Children’S Sleep

Sleep disturbances in early childhood are associated with mood and anxiety disorders. Children also exhibit sleep disruptions, such as nighttime awakenings, nightmares, and difficulties falling asleep, in conjunction with adverse events and stress. Prior studies have examined independently the role of sleep on adaptive processing, as well as the effects of stress on sleep. However, how childhood sleep and children's adaptive behavior (i.e., coping strategies) bidirectionally interact is currently less known. Using a within-subjects design and actigraphy-measured sleep from 16 preschool-aged children (Mage = 56.4 months, SD = 10.8, range: 36–70 months), this study investigated how prior sleep patterns relate to children's coping during a potentially stressful event, the COVID-19 pandemic, and how prior coping skills may influence children's sleep during the pandemic. Children who woke earlier had greater negative expression both before and during the pandemic. During the pandemic, children slept longer and woke later on average compared to before the pandemic. Additionally, for children engaged in at-home learning, sleeping longer was associated with less negative expression. These findings highlight how sleep behaviors and coping strategies are related, and the stability of this relationship under stress.

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