Relations between maternal behaviors and temperament in infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood

Document Type

Poster

Department

Psychology

Conference Title

International Conference on Infant Studies

Location

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Conference Dates

March 27 - 29, 2008

Date of Presentation

3-27-2008

Abstract

Previous research has found that mothers of preschool children with slow-to-warm-up and difficult temperament demonstrate more controlling behaviors toward their children than mothers of easy and intermediate preschoolers (Simonds & Simonds, 1981). Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (NICHD SECC) were used in the present study to further examine relations between maternal behaviors and temperament in infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood. Participants were 1,072 mothers and their children. Temperament was assessed at 6 months using a modified version of the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire (RITQ; Carey & McDevitt, 1978). Temperament category scores were derived as outlined by Carey and McDevitt (1978) from the raw data obtained at 6 months. The maternal behaviors evaluated in the present study were maternal sensitivity, derived from a laboratory observation, and maternal stimulation and support, derived from the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME). A two-way mixed design analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate associations between maternal sensitivity at 6, 15, 24, and 36 months and the 6-month temperament categories. Significant main effects were found for Age (p < .01) and Temperament (p < .01). The Age x Temperament interaction was nonsignificant. Pairwise comparisons revealed that mothers of difficult infants demonstrated significantly less sensitivity toward their 6-month-old infants when interacting with their children than mothers of easy or intermediate infants, and this pattern continued in toddlerhood and in early childhood. A second two-way mixed design analysis of variance evaluated associations between the overall HOME score at 6, 15, and 36 months and infant temperament category at 6 months. Significant effects were found for Age (p < .01), Temperament (p < .01), and for the interaction of Age x Temperament (p < .01). Pairwise comparisons revealed a number of effects of temperament. In particular, mothers of children who were difficult in infancy demonstrated significantly less stimulation and support toward their children at 36 months than did mothers of children who were slow-to-warm-up, easy, or intermediate in infancy. Results from the present study support and expand earlier findings by indicating that children who are difficult in infancy receive less stimulation and support in the home and less sensitivity from their mothers in infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood than children who are slow-to-warm-up, easy, or intermediate in infancy. Interventions promoting mothers’ understanding of their children’s temperament characteristics may help to reduce these differences.

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