Person-centered profiles of child temperament: A comparison of coder, mother, and experimenter ratings

Abstract

This study compared person-centered temperament group classifications derived from latent profile analyses on maternal reports, post-visit experimenter ratings, and task-based coder-rated behaviors at 18 months of age. Toddlers (N = 148) completed a laboratory visit with tasks intended to assess temperament and early regulatory abilities. Following the visit, experimenters rated child temperament using the Infant Behavior Record and coders rated toddlers’ approach-withdrawal, affect, and regulatory behaviors across several laboratory tasks. Mothers completed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Fisher’s exact tests revealed that latent profiles characterized by temperamental inhibition and early regulatory abilities were quite consistent across assessments, whereas those characterized by surgent/exuberant qualities were less consistent. These results support a “components of variance” approach which suggests that different assessment methods produce both unique and overlapping information about child temperament.