Effects of Mothers’ Warm Parenting Behavior on Latent Transition Patterns of Infants’ Temperament

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to confirm the stability of temperament in the early stages of life and the influence of warm maternal parenting by categorizing the temperament of children aged 1-3 years and examining the transition pattern of temperament type according to age.Methods: The subjects were 1,377 infants aged 1-3 years (672 boys and; 646 girls) from the Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC) between 2010-2012 (3rd-5th year). The collected data were analyzed using Pearson's right-rate correlation analysis, latent profile analysis, latent transition analysis, and nominal logistic regression using SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 8.3 programs.Results: First, the temperament types of children aged 1-3 years were consistently classified into three categories across all ages: shy (Class 1), easy (Class 2), and active (Class 3). Second, across all ages, there was a 72.0% probability that children aged 1-3 years would remain in the same temperament type, while there was a 28.0% probability of transitioning to a different type. Third, a child who is active at the age of 2 is more likely to remain active at the age of 3, rather than transitioning to a shy type, especially if the mother exhibits warm parenting behavior.Conclusion: This study statistically confirmed that temperament types can remain consistent as individuals age, but can also undergo latent transitions to different types over time. These findings suggest the need to reconsider the conventional understanding of temperament stability.