Early Temperament as a Predictor of Child Mental Health

Abstract

The present follow-up study examined the contribution of early temperament to mental health in preschool and school years. Participants represent a community sample of 96 children (54% female) from urban and rural areas of Russia. Temperament was measured by the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire; mental health was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Effortful control and negative affectivity accounted for 17% of the variance in internalizing problems and 6% in externalizing problems, and results also highlighted the contribution of lower-order traits. Our findings emphasize the importance of broadband and fine-grained early temperamental traits for later mental health in the Russian context and support the predominant role of effortful control and negative affectivity.