Abstract
Evidence suggests that a child with a difficult temperament, reared in an alcoholic family, is at high risk for the development of behavior problems that antedate the emergence of antisocial behavior, alcoholism, and coactive psychopathology. However, the causal linkage between difficult temperament and problem behavior in childhood, and antisociality and alcohol abuse in adulthood is far from certain, in part because few studies assess emergent behavior patterns in young children of alcoholics. In this study, we investigated the temperament-behavior problem relationship in 191 3- to 5-year-old boys, 149 of whom were being reared in high-risk alcoholic, low socioeconomic environments. Boys were classified as high in problem behavior or not based on standardized clinical cut-off scores for Total Behavior Problems from the Child Behavior Checklist. Results indicated that boys rated in the clinical range for total behavior problems exhibited more characteristics of difficult temperament than boys who were not rated in the clinical range. Parents of the boys in the clinical group had significantly more alcohol-related problems, higher levels of antisociality, and significantly lower levels of socioeconomic status, income, and education. Results are consistent with the supposition that the difficult temperament-behavior problem relationship flourishes in the context of an antisocial, alcoholic family environment.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.