Relations Between Parent- and Teacher-Reported Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Observations of This Temperamental Trait

Abstract

This study examined the relation between the Behavioral Inhibition Scale (BIS), a measure that was specifically developed for assessing behavioral inhibition, and behavioral observations of this trait. Children ages 6 to 10 years participated in a series of experimental tasks assessing behavioral features of the inhibited temperament. The parents and teachers of these children completed the BIS. Results showed that the BIS (in particular the parent version) was significantly related to the observational index of behavioral inhibition. An additional aim of the study was to examine the relation between behavioral inhibition as indexed by the BIS and observations, on the one hand, and measures of anxiety symptoms, fear, and behavioral symptoms, on the other hand. As expected, significant correlations between behavioral inhibition indexes and symptoms of anxiety and withdrawal were observed. The BIS is found to be a brief and easy-to-administer instrument, which seems to provide a meaningful first impression of children's level of behavioral inhibition, and this is particularly true when using the parent version of the BIS.