Difficult Child Temperament Research Articles

Mothers with Neuroticism: Parenting When Faced with Challenges

SYNOPSIS Objective. The study documents how the personality trait of neuroticism is implicated in two aspects of parenting under two forms of challenge, low income and rearing a difficult child. Design. Relations of maternal neuroticism with sensitivity and stimulation in parenting and the total HOME score were examined when children were 54 months old and 5th grade, with a focus on how neuroticism moderates the effect of low household income and child temperament on parenting. Results. Mothers high in neuroticism were less likely to manifest sensitivity or provide stimulation. Maternal neuroticism moderated the effects of low income on sensitivity, stimulation, and the overall home environment, particularly at 54 months. However, significant interactions between maternal neuroticism and child difficult temperament were only found for the total HOME score at age 11. Conclusions. Living in adverse circumstances may make it difficult for mothers with neuroticism to engage productively in parenting.

Facet-level changes in mothers’ neuroticism and extraversion from early pregnancy to 6 months post-partum

Becoming a parent could be expected to affect personality development, but the existing results on parenthood-personality change connection are mixed. The present study investigated 2445 primi- and multiparous mothers’ facet- and domain-level changes in Neuroticism and Extraversion from early pregnancy to 6 months post-partum, using latent difference score models. The results showed that Excitability and the affective facets of Neuroticism decreased, and the Neuroticism facets Impulsivity and Self-Consciousness increased during the follow-up. Furthermore, mother-perceived child difficult temperament attenuated desirable personality change and amplified the increases in Impulsivity. The results suggested that considering facet-level changes in personality development across significant life events is informative, and that mother-perceived child temperament may represent an important moderator of short-term personality change across the transition to parenthood.

Developmental pathways from toddler difficult temperament to child generalized psychopathology and adult functioning

BackgroundEarly difficult temperament and child mental health problems are consistently associated with impaired functioning in adulthood. We examined three potential pathways between difficult temperament in toddlerhood (age 2) and depressive symptoms (ages 21–23) and well-being (age 23): i) direct – early difficult temperament directly associates with these outcomes, ii) mediated – these direct effects are also mediated by a general psychopathology factor in late childhood/early adolescence (GPF; ages 7, 10,and 13), and iii) moderated-mediated – these mediated effects are also moderated by negative (age 42 months) and positive (age 33 months) parenting behaviors. MethodsThe analytic sample included 1892 mother-child dyads (33.4% male children) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Mothers reported on their child's difficult temperament, negative parenting, positive parenting, and child's mental health symptoms. In adulthood, participants reported their own depressive symptoms and well-being (i.e. mental well-being, life satisfaction, happiness). ResultsFirst, early difficult temperament associated directly and positively with depressive symptoms, but negatively with well-being in adulthood. Second, the GPF in late childhood/early adolescence mediated these direct associations. Third, the mediated pathways were not moderated by negative or positive parenting. Limitationsi) low risk community sample, ii) early risks are based on maternal reports. ConclusionsTemperament is a risk factor for impaired psychosocial functioning in adulthood, manifested through increased susceptibility to psychopathology in childhood/adolescence. Although more research is needed to test their generalizability, these findings suggest that targeting early difficult temperament may alleviate the risk for later mental health difficulties and may increase general well-being.

Early-Life Environmental and Child Factors Associated with the Presence of Disruptive Behaviors in Seven-Year-Old Children with Autistic Traits in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

We studied the association of early-life environmental and child factors with disruptive behaviors in children with autistic traits around age 7, in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 6,401). Logistic regression with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator indicated that disruptive behaviors were associated with prenatal smoking, no seafood-consumption during pregnancy, breech presentation at delivery, neonatal feeding problems, low social-economic situation, suboptimal preschool family environment, maternal depression, maternal antisocial behavior, male sex, and difficult child temperament. Compared to controls, male sex, maternal depression, and suboptimal preschool family environment were related to autistic traits without disruptive behaviors. Thus, there may be a difference in early-life factors related to autism spectrum disorder with and without disruptive behaviors.

US fathers' reports of bonding, infant temperament and psychosocial stress based on family sleep arrangements.

Background and objectivesEvolutionary-grounded sleep research has been critical to establishing the mutual dependence of breastfeeding and nighttime sleep proximity for mothers and infants. Evolutionary perspectives on cosleeping also often emphasize the emotional motivations for and potential benefits of sleep proximity, including for parent-infant bonding. However, this potential link between infant sleep location and bonding remains understudied for both mothers and fathers. Moreover, in Euro-American contexts bedsharing has been linked to family stress and difficult child temperament, primarily via maternal reports. We know relatively little about whether paternal psychosocial dynamics differ based on family sleep arrangements, despite fathers and other kin often being present in the cosleeping environment across cultures. Here, we aim to help address some of these gaps in knowledge pertaining to fathers and family sleep arrangements.MethodologyDrawing on a sample of Midwestern U.S. fathers (N=195), we collected sociodemographic and survey data to analyze links between infant nighttime sleep location, paternal psychosocial well-being, father-infant bonding, and infant temperament. From fathers’ reports, families were characterized as routinely solitary sleeping, bedsharing, or roomsharing (without bedsharing).ResultsWe found that routinely roomsharing or bedsharing fathers, respectively, reported stronger bonding than solitary sleepers. Bedsharing fathers also reported that their infants had more negative temperaments and also tended to report greater parenting-related stress due to difficulties with their children.ConclusionsThese cross-sectional results help to highlight how a practice with deep phylogenetic and evolutionary history, such as cosleeping, can be variably expressed within communities with the potential for family-dependent benefits or strains.

Maternal parentification history impacts evaluative cognitions about self, parenting, and child.

Parentification occurs when children are unfairly charged with fulfilling parental instrumental and emotional needs. Parentification is associated with risk to evaluative self cognitions from childhood to emerging adulthood, but this association has not yet been studied among parents. The transition to parenthood is typically characterized by declines in self-esteem, suggesting it is a critical period for understanding the risk parentification history poses to evaluative self-cognitions and evaluative cognitions about children. The present study addresses these gaps using longitudinal data (N=374 first-time mothers) to examine the influence of maternal parentification history domains (emotional and instrumental caregiving, role unfairness) on trajectories of maternal evaluative cognitions about the self (self-esteem, parenting self-efficacy) and about the child (difficult child temperament, dissatisfaction with child contributions to relationships) in early parenthood. A spillover model was also examined such that evaluative cognitions about the self were examined as potential mediators between parentification history and evaluative cognitions about children. Results support associations between the role unfairness domain of parentification and each domain of maternal evaluative cognitions and a significant indirect effect of unfairness on risk to maternal evaluative cognitions about child contributions via parenting self-efficacy. Implications for mother-child relationships and processes of intergenerational transmission of parentification are discussed.

What children bring to the table: The association of temperament and child fussy eating with maternal and paternal mealtime structure

Fussy eating is a nuanced, mealtime-specific behaviour associated with difficult temperament but has been rarely examined within the context of mealtime structure. The aim of this study was to a) examine associations between child temperament, and mothers' and fathers' structure-related feeding practices and b) explore whether these associations were mediated by child fussy eating. Cohabiting mother-father pairs (N = 205) of children aged between 2- to 5-years residing in a socioeconomically disadvantaged Australian city completed self-reported, validated measures of child temperament, food fussiness and structure-related feeding practices (structured meal timing, structured meal setting and family meal setting). Child temperament was associated with maternal and paternal structure-related feeding practices, such that more difficult temperament was associated with less mealtime structure. Mothers' perception of child food fussiness mediated the relationship between difficult temperament and increased provision of alternative meals to the child from the rest of the family. Additionally, mothers' and fathers' perception of child food fussiness mediated the relationship between difficult child temperament and lower frequency of sitting at a table together for family meals. Therefore, perceptions of child food fussiness may explain why mothers and fathers use less structure at mealtimes with children who have more difficult temperaments. These results suggests that similar intervention approaches can be used for both mothers and fathers from socioeconomically disadvantaged families to target fussy eating and structure the mealtime environment. Promoting mealtime structure to facilitate parents’ appropriate responses to food refusal or difficult behaviour at mealtimes is indicated.

Direct and indirect contributions of child difficult temperament and power assertive parental discipline to Turkish children’s behaviour problems

ABSTRACT The purpose of the current study was to examine power assertive parental discipline and child difficult temperament as predictors of children’s behaviour problems (internalizing, externalizing, and total behaviour problems) as well as mediating role of difficult temperament between power assertive parental discipline and children’s behaviour problems. Participants were 118 children (53 boys) and their parents for the current study. Children’s age ranged from 16 months to 36 months (M = 27.91, SD = 5.67). Mothers reported on their power assertive parental discipline, child temperament, and behaviour problems of children. Results from regression analysis showed that: (1) there was a positive association between parents’ power assertive discipline and child behaviour problems. (2) Child difficult temperament was positively associated with children’s internalizing, externalizing and total behaviour problems. (3) Children’s difficult temperament mediated the association between power assertive discipline and child behaviour problems. Limitations and future directions of the current study are discussed.

Little in Norway: a prospective longitudinal community-based cohort from pregnancy to child age 18 months

PurposeThe Little in Norway (LiN) project is a cross-disciplinary prospective longitudinal study starting in pregnancy. It was set up to investigate maternal and paternal mental health functioning in the transition...

Assessing longitudinal pathways between maternal depressive symptoms, parenting self-esteem and infant temperament.

BackgroundPrevious studies of relations between parenting self-concepts, parental adjustment and child temperament have been ambiguous regarding the direction of influence; and have rarely followed families from pregnancy through the first year of life. The current study examines change and stability in maternal depressive symptoms, parenting competences and child temperament through the perinatal period until nine months postpartum.MethodsCzech mothers (N = 282) participated at three time points: the third trimester of pregnancy (Time 1), six weeks (Time 2) and nine months postpartum (Time 3). Questionnaire data concerned depressive symptoms (T1, T2, T3), maternal parenting self-esteem (T1, T2) and sense of competence (T3), and child temperament (T2, T3). A path model was used to examine concurrent and longitudinal relations between these variables.ResultsThe analyses indicated longitudinal stability of all constructs, as well as concurrent relations between them. Longitudinal relations supported child-to-parent, rather than parent-to-child, effects: child difficult temperament predicted decreases in perceived maternal parenting competences, but maternal variables did not predict change in infant temperament. In addition, we observed weak mutual relations between maternal depression levels and parenting competences, such that maternal depression diminished perceived parenting competences that in turn contributed to higher levels of depression.ConclusionMothers’ confidence in their ability to parent is influenced by their experience with a difficult infant and by their depressive symptoms during the child’s first year of life. Depressive symptoms are, in turn, aggravated by mothers’ low perceived competences in the parenting role.

Intergenerational Risk of Parentification and Infantilization to Externalizing Moderated by Child Temperament.

The present study examined the intergenerational risk of instrumental filial responsibility in the first generation on children's externalizing behaviors in the next generation and examined difficult child temperament as a potential moderator of this association. Filial responsibility refers to children's instrumental or emotional caregiving roles (Kuperminc, Jurkovic, & Casey, 2009). Moderate levels of instrumental responsibility, such as age-appropriate responsibilities, may be normative whereas too much (parentification) or too little (infantilization) responsibility are associated with risk to development (Jurkovic, 1997), parenting, and offspring development (Nuttall, Valentino & Borkowski, 2012). Prior work has not isolated the unique effects of instrumental caregiving or identified the children most susceptible to intergenerational risk. A multi-site, longitudinal design assessed a diverse sample of first-time mothers and their children. Data from the present study (N=374) were drawn from the third trimester of pregnancy, 12-month and 36-month assessments. Results support the curvilinear association between maternal history of instrumental caregiving and offspring externalizing symptoms controlling for emotional caregiving. Difficult child temperament moderated the association. Maternal instrumental caregiving history increases risk to children's externalizing symptoms, particularly at high (parentification) and low (infantilization) levels of instrumental caregiving and when child temperament is easy rather than difficult.

Agreeable mothers: How they manage adverse circumstances and difficult children

Relations between two contextual challenges (low household income, difficult child temperament), maternal agreeableness and three aspects of parenting (harshness, sensitivity, stimulation) were examined when children were 6 months, 54 months old and 5th grade. Mothers with higher incomes and more education were more sensitive and provided more stimulation to their children. They also were less harsh. Mothers high in agreeableness were more likely to demonstrate sensitivity and provide stimulation; and they were less likely to manifest harshness. Maternal agreeableness moderated the effects of low income on parental behavior with significant interaction effects observed in 9 of the 12 models tested. When rearing a difficult child, mother’s high in agreeableness showed more supportive behavior in 3 of the 12 models tested.

Paternal psychological distress, parenting, and child behaviour: A population based, cross-sectional study.

Child behaviour problems are common and can lead to later mental health problems. Poor maternal mental health and adverse parenting practices are known risk factors for child behaviour problems. Less is known about the association between paternal mental health and parenting, and child behaviour. We aimed to explore the association between paternal psychological distress and parenting (harsh discipline, low warmth, unreasonable expectations, and overinvolved/protectiveness) with children's internalising and externalising behaviour at 3years of age. Cross-sectional surveys of 669 (80% response) fathers of 3-year-old children, nested within a randomised controlled trial. Main outcomes of behaviour (Child Behavior Checklist), parenting (Parent Behavior Checklist and overinvolved/protective parenting scale), and psychological distress (Kessler-6) were measured. Regression modelling examined the associations between paternal factors and child behaviour, adjusting for maternal mental health and parenting, as well as child and family variables. In adjusted analyses, paternal psychological distress (b=0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.26-0.60], p<0.001), harsh discipline (b=0.20, 95% CI [0.13-0.27], p<0.001), and maternal mental health (b=0.08, 95% CI [0.03-0.12], p=0.001) were associated with externalising symptoms. However, only paternal psychological distress, harsh discipline, and being a boy were associated with borderline/clinical levels of externalising problems (all p<0.05). Paternal psychological distress, harsh discipline, overinvolved parenting, maternal mental health, and difficult child temperament were associated with internalising symptoms (all p<0.05). However, only paternal harsh discipline and overinvolved parenting were associated with borderline/clinical internalising problems. Paternal mental health and parenting are independently associated with child behaviour. Treatments for children with behavioural problems should also address paternal mental health and parenting.

How toddlers' irritability and fearfulness relate to parenting: A longitudinal study conducted among Quebec families

AbstractAlthough child difficult temperament is a well‐known risk factor for parenting quality, few studies have focused on the association between specific temperament dimensions and parental behaviours. This study focused on negative emotionality, one of the best‐accepted dimensions of temperament, and its subdimensions of irritability and fearfulness. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive value of irritability and fearfulness at 17 months upon parenting practices (involvement, coercion, and overprotection) at 29 months, beyond the influence of other well‐known risk factors (e.g., socio‐economic status and maternal depression). The study used data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a longitudinal study conducted upon 1,829 families from Quebec (Canada), using self‐report questionnaires and medical files. Structural equation modelling identified irritability as a predictor of coercion, an externally controlling practice, whereas fearfulness predicted overprotection, an internally controlling practice. No significant associations were found after modelling between dimensions of negative emotionality and involvement. These results underline how certain aspects of child temperament may differentially “pull for control” and lead parents to act in a certain way, which may thwart young children's development and need for autonomy.Highlights This article investigates the associations between negative emotionality (i.e., irritability and fearfulness) and parenting (i.e., involvement, coercion, and overprotection). Structural equation modelling was used on data collected during a longitudinal study with a representative sample of 2,223 families. Each dimension of negative emotionality was associated to a different form of controlling parenting 1 year later (i.e., irritability with coercion and fearfulness with overprotection).

Risk and protective factors for mental health problems in preschool-aged children: cross-sectional results of the BELLA preschool study

BackgroundMental health problems (MHPs) in preschoolers are precursors of mental disorders which have shown to be associated with suffering, functional impairment, exposure to stigma and discrimination, as well as enhanced risk of premature death. A better understanding of factors associated with MHPs in preschoolers can facilitate early identification of children at risk and inform prevention programs. This cross-sectional study investigated the association of risk and protective factors with MHPs within a German representative community sample.MethodsMHPs were assessed in a sample of 391 preschoolers aged 3–6 years using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The effects of parental MHPs, children’s temperament, parental socioeconomic status (SES), social support and perceived self-competence on MHPs were assessed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses that controlled for sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsOverall, 18.2% of preschoolers were classified as ‘borderline or abnormal’ on the total difficulties score of the SDQ. Bivariate analyses showed that parental MHPs, children’s difficult temperament, and parental low SES increased the likelihood, whereas high perceived parental competence decreased the likelihood of preschool MHPs. In the multivariate analyses, only difficult child temperament remained significantly associated with preschool MHPs when other variables were controlled.ConclusionsThe results underline the importance of children’s difficult temperamental characteristics as a risk factor for mental health in preschoolers and suggest that these may also be an appropriate target for prevention of preschool MHPs. More research on specific aspects of preschool children’s temperament, the socioeconomic environment and longitudinal studies on the effects of these in the development of preschool MHPs is needed.

Systematic Review: Predisposing, Precipitating, Perpetuating, and Present Factors Predicting Anticipatory Distress to Painful Medical Procedures in Children.

To conduct a systematic review of the factors predicting anticipatory distress to painful medical procedures in children. A systematic search was conducted to identify studies with factors related to anticipatory distress to painful medical procedures in children aged 0-18 years. The search retrieved 7,088 articles to review against inclusion criteria. A total of 77 studies were included in the review. 31 factors were found to predict anticipatory distress to painful medical procedures in children. A narrative synthesis of the evidence was conducted, and a summary figure is presented. Many factors were elucidated that contribute to the occurrence of anticipatory distress to painful medical procedures. The factors that appear to increase anticipatory distress are child psychopathology, difficult child temperament, parent distress promoting behaviors, parent situational distress, previous pain events, parent anticipation of distress, and parent anxious predisposition. Longitudinal and experimental research is needed to further elucidate these factors.

Parental Behaviors and Beliefs, Child Temperament, and Attachment Disorganization

This research examined alternative mechanisms in the etiology of attachment disorganization. The authors hypothesized that negative intrusive parenting would significantly predict children's attachment disorganization at age 12 months within a diverse community sample. Of more substantial interest, the authors tested moderational mechanisms in the association between negative intrusive parenting, parental strong belief in discipline and control, child difficult temperament, and children's attachment disorganization. Using a multiple regression analytic approach, this research found that negative intrusive parenting significantly predicted children's attachment disorganization. This prediction was more significantly related to children's levels of attachment disorganization when it was paired with stronger rather than weaker parental beliefs in discipline and control. In contrast, when children had difficult temperament at 6 months, it was only when parents held very weak beliefs in discipline and control that children were at higher risk for attachment disorganization. Implications of the findings were discussed accordingly.

Family Socioeconomic Position as a Moderator of the Association Between Parental Psychopathology and Children's Outcomes: Data From France

Parental psychopathology is a known risk factor of psychological and behavioral difficulties in the offspring, however several questions regarding the nature of this relationship are yet unanswered. First, it is not clear whether the timing of parental psychopathology is relevant and particularly whether pregnancy is a period of particular vulnerability. Second, the age when the relationship between parental psychopathology and children's behavior can be observed is not yet determined. Third, the association between parental psychopathology and children's outcomes is heterogeneous, and may vary with other factors including family socioeconomic position. Based on data from the French EDEN cohort study (2000 mother-child pairs followed from pregnancy onwards, since 2004-2006), this presentation will examine the longitudinal association between maternal depression and tobacco use and children's temperament (assessed by the EAS scale at age 18 months) and psychological difficulties (assessed by the SDQ at age 3 and 5 years), as well as the moderating role of familial socioeconomic factors. Findings show that maternal tobacco use in pregnancy as well as maternal depression in pregnancy or persistent over time are associated with children's difficult temperament and behavioral difficulties (particularly symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention). Associations between maternal addictive behaviors and depression and children's outcomes may be stronger in case of family socioeconomic difficulties. These results highlight the importance of tobacco use in pregnancy and depressive symptoms that may be of subclinical level with regard to children's behavioral outcomes. The intergenerational transmission of psychopathology may be heightened in case of socioeconomic difficulties.

Normative development of physical aggression from 8 to 26 months.

This study investigated the normative use and developmental course of physical aggression (PA), defined as use of physical force such as hitting, biting, and kicking, from 8 to 26 months and predictors thereof. We used data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, comprising 1,159 children (559 girls and 600 boys). Both mothers and fathers reported frequently about their child's use of PA in personal and telephone interviews. Mean number of reports per child was 7.16 (SD 1.70), with 90% having at least 6 reports. We employed Rasch scaling to construct a single linear PA measure and multilevel growth curve modeling to address the research questions. The results confirm that the development of PA is nonlinear, with a peak in frequency at about 20-22 months, which is followed by a decline toward 26 months. There is both within- and between-child variance in the development of PA. Higher levels of PA were predicted by the presence of a same-age sibling, maternal and paternal mental distress, and difficult child temperament (high activity level and distress due to limitations), whereas the main effect of gender was only trend-significant. Growth of PA across this developmental period was predicted by the presence of a same-age sibling and high activity level. The results both support and transcend previous research within this field.

Predicting Harsh Discipline in At-Risk Mothers: The Moderating Effect of Socioeconomic Deprivation Severity

Socioeconomic disadvantage is an important predictor of maternal harsh discipline, but few studies have examined risk mechanisms for harsh parenting within disadvantaged samples. In the present study, parenting stress, family conflict, and child difficult temperament are examined as predictors of maternal harsh discipline among a group of 58 mothers from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and their young children between the ages of 1- to 4-years-old. Maternal harsh discipline was measured using standardized observations, and mothers reported on parenting stress, family conflict, and child temperament. Severity of socioeconomic deprivation was included as a moderator in these associations. Results showed that parenting stress and family conflict predicted maternal harsh discipline, but only in the most severely deprived families. These findings extend prior research on the processes through which socioeconomic deprivation severity and family functioning impact maternal harsh discipline within a high-risk sample of low-income families. They suggest that the spillover of negative parental functioning into parent–child interactions is particularly likely under conditions of substantial socioeconomic deprivation. Severity of socioeconomic stress seems to undermine maternal adaptive forms of coping, resulting in harsh disciplining practices. Intervention efforts aimed at improving parenting and family relations, as well as an adaptive coping style assume especial relevance.