Measures Of Temperament Research Articles

How was your child’s temperament today and last week? Considering within-person variability in the measurement of infant temperament

Infant temperament is usually considered biologically driven and a precursor of personality. Despite being conceived as trait measures, parent reports for assessing infant temperament use short timescales, for example, the past seven days, implying variability in temperament traits’ expressions. In two daily diary studies, we used the whole trait theory perspective to investigate whether infant temperament is observable daily and to what degree it varies within person across days. In Study 1, N = 137 mothers of infants aged 6–18 months reported on their infant’s daily (state) temperament (median number of days: 8 and total observations: 984). The results suggest a substantial within-person variation in daily infant temperament (ICCs: .41–.54). Study 2 ( N = 199 mothers, median number of days: 7, and total observations: 1375) replicated these results on the variability in infant state temperament (ICCs: .41–.51). In addition, infant state temperament was related to infant trait temperament. However, certain temperament items—primarily those assessing surgency—were frequently rated as not applicable and did not seem suitable for daily assessments. Across both studies, results indicate substantial within-person variability in daily infant temperament and a strong trait component.

Associations among temperament characteristics and telomere length and attrition rate in early childhood.

There is growing interest in telomere length as an indicator of current and future health. Although early childhood is a period of rapid telomere attrition, little is known about the factors that influence telomere biology during this time. Adult research suggests that telomere length is influenced by psychological characteristics. This study's goal was to test associations among repeated measures of temperament and telomere length in a community sample of children (N = 602; 52% male, 73% non-Hispanic White, middle-to-high socioeconomic status) from infancy to age 3 years. Relative telomere length was assessed from DNA in saliva samples collected at infancy (M = 8.4 months), 2 years (M = 24.9 months), and 3 years (M = 37.8 months). Temperament was assessed via maternal report questionnaires administered at infancy (Infant Behavior Report Questionnaire-Revised) and ages 2 and 3 years (Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire). Temperament was operationalized in two ways: using the established domains of negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion, and regulation/effortful control and using person-centered scores that identified three groups of children with similar profiles across domains (emotionally and behaviorally regulated; emotionally and behaviorally dysregulated; introverted and overcontrolled). Analyses revealed that greater regulation/effortful control was associated with longer telomere length across time points. Additionally, higher surgency/extraversion, beginning in infancy, was associated with decreased rate of telomere attrition. There were no sex differences in the relations between temperament and telomere measures. These findings suggest that, as early as infancy, temperament may influence telomere biology, with a potential protective effect of positive temperament characteristics on telomere erosion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Microbial exposure at birth and the development of behavioral temperament during the first three years of childhood.

We investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between neonate microbial exposure and emerging behavioral temperament measures at the ages of 1, 2, and 3 years. Infants and mothers (n = 335) were extracted from the Kuopio Birth Cohort Study. Temperament was assessed using the Infant Behavioral and Early Childhood Behavioral Questionnaires. Microbial samples were collected from oral cavity at birth and the bacterial profiles were assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Microbial diversity was characterized using alpha and beta diversity metrics. Analyses were performed for the most abundant genera. The sample was analyzed as a whole, as well as divided into subgroups representing no antibiotic use during birth (n = 198) and those with antibiotic use during birth (n = 137). No significant associations were observed between microbial profiles and behavioral measures after Bonferroni corrections. Nevertheless, our pre-correction results indicated an association between increased behavioral temperament surgency in the first year and beta diversity (high abundance of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium and Blautia, low abundance of Lactobacillus) in the antibiotic use group. Additionally, pre-corrections, a high relative abundance of Staphylococcus was associated with increased surgency through years 1, 2, and 3 in the no antibiotics group, prompting consideration into a possible link between antibiotic use and emerging behavioral temperament.

Startle magnitude is a repeatable measure of reactive temperament in sheep

Behavioural reactivity is an expression of temperament that may influence an animal’s response to stressful situations and impact on handleability and the human-animal relationship. Shortcomings of previously described tests led to the development of a standardized startle protocol in sheep using a tactile stimulus (airblast to the face) and the presence of conspecifics to minimize the effects of social isolation. Here we tested the repeatability of the protocol, the consistency of the response and habituation to the protocol. Twenty sheep were tested across four startle interval test phases. Phases were applied consecutively such that each sheep received up to 17 startles across a six-week period with two to six days between test phases. Phases were; within – up to 5 startles over a 7 min test, Bi-hourly – four repetitions of a single 4-minute startle test 2 hours apart on one day, daily – a single 4-minute startle test repeated over four consecutive days and, weekly – a single 4-minute startle test repeated once per week over four consecutive weeks. Three measures of startle magnitude, retreat distance (zone 1–6) and startle duration (s), startle force (gs), were recorded for each startle. A reduction in response to the startle stimulus over time was identified; however, consistent responses of sheep for the measures of startle magnitude were generally observed across test phases. Repeatability of retreat distance and startle force were moderate to high within test phases (0.56–0.82), whereas startle duration had low to moderate repeatability (0.26–0.50). Strong consistency in individual responses, good repeatability, and the presence of a distinct startle response after repeated applications of the stimulus indicate that the startle test shows promise as a measure of reactive temperament in sheep. Further development to improve the tests access in commercial environments may also facilitate producers use of startle magnitude for the selection of less reactive temperaments to improve handleability, safety and welfare on farm.

The role of affective temperaments as a factor of vulnerability to seasonal affective disorder

BackgroundGrowing evidence suggests the relevance of affective temperaments in the development of mood disorders. This study aims to assess their potential role as a vulnerability factor for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD) in a sample of young individuals without a history of clinical diagnosis. MethodsEight hundred and forty-six university students were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Participants were evaluated for exclusion and inclusion criteria and divided into Control, S-SAD, and SAD groups. They filled out two self-administered questionnaires to assess the degree of seasonality problems and the predominant type of affective temperaments, the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), and the Temperament Evaluation Instrument of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Auto-questionnaire version scale (briefTEMPS-M version). We conducted a multinomial logistic regression model to explore the relationship between affective temperaments and seasonality. ResultsOur results evidenced that cyclothymic [χ2 (2) = 33.486, p < 0.001] and anxious [χ2 (2) = 86.991, p < 0.001] temperaments were significant predictors in the model, suggesting that individuals with cyclothymic and anxious temperaments are at increased risk of developing SAD, due to heightened seasonal changes in mood and behavior. In contrast, people with hyperthymic temperament appear less susceptible to experiencing seasonal problems. LimitationsThe homogeneity of the sample; only retrospective self-reported data were considered; measures of temperament and seasonality were simultaneously assessed. ConclusionsUnderstanding which affective temperaments may constitute a potential predisposing factor for vulnerability to seasonal changes can aid in better assessing SAD and predicting its outcome.

Neural Correlates of Novelty-Evoked Distress in 4-Month-Old Infants: A Synthetic Cohort Study

BackgroundObservational assessments of infant temperament have provided unparalleled insight into prediction of risk for social anxiety. However, it is challenging to administer and score these assessments alongside high-quality infant neuroimaging data. In the current study, we aimed to identify infant resting-state functional connectivity associated with both parent report and observed behavioral estimates of infant novelty-evoked distress. MethodsUsing data from the OIT (Origins of Infant Temperament) study, which includes deep phenotyping of infant temperament, we identified parent-report measures that were associated with observed novelty-evoked distress. These parent-report measures were then summarized into a composite score used for imaging analysis. Our infant magnetic resonance imaging sample was a synthetic cohort, harmonizing data from 2 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of 4-month-old infants (OIT and BCP [Baby Connectome Project]; n = 101), both of which included measures of parent-reported temperament. Brain-behavior associations were evaluated using enrichment, a statistical approach that quantifies the clustering of brain-behavior associations within network pairs. ResultsResults demonstrated that parent-report composites of novelty-evoked distress were significantly associated with 3 network pairs: dorsal attention–salience/ventral attention, dorsal attention–default mode, and dorsal attention–control. These network pairs demonstrated negative associations with novelty-evoked distress, indicating that less connectivity between these network pairs was associated with greater novelty-evoked distress. Additional analyses demonstrated that dorsal attention–control network connectivity was associated with observed novelty-evoked distress in the OIT sample (n = 38). ConclusionsOverall, this work is broadly consistent with existing work and implicates dorsal attention network connectivity in novelty-evoked distress. This study provides novel data on the neural basis of infant novelty-evoked distress.

Assessing Temperament Risk Factors in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence: Development and Validation of the Integrative Late Childhood Temperament Inventory.

Childhood temperament has a well-documented influence on later life outcomes, notably behavior problems, quality of interpersonal relationships, and academic achievement. However, there is at present a lack of brief measures that assess temperament characteristics which are represented across models of temperament in the late childhood and early adolescence period. To redress this gap, the aim of the current study was to develop and validate a short questionnaire that extends an earlier integrative measure of temperament, the Integrative Child Temperament Inventory (ICTI) to the late childhood period. The new measure (named Integrative Late Childhood Temperament Inventory, ILCTI) includes all five components of the ICTI (frustration, behavioral inhibition, attention/persistence, activity level, sensory sensitivity), plus affiliation. German- or English-speaking parents rated a total of 525 children, aged 8 to 14years. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the predicted structure of the new measure. Examination of fit indices and psychometric analyses showed that 24 items are sufficient to capture all six dimensions reliably. Next to convergent validity with established measures of temperament and personality, we also present analyses of associations with measures of externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and school failure all of which support the instrument's clinical utility. Thus, despite its brevity, the ILCTI is a reliable and valid measure of late childhood temperament that can be helpful in assessing risk of developing behavior problems or school failure.

Rhesus infant nervous temperament predicts peri-adolescent central amygdala metabolism & behavioral inhibition measured by a machine-learning approach.

Anxiety disorders affect millions of people worldwide and impair health, happiness, and productivity on a massive scale. Developmental research points to a connection between early-life behavioral inhibition and the eventual development of these disorders. Our group has previously shown that measures of behavioral inhibition in young rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) predict anxiety-like behavior later in life. In recent years, clinical and basic researchers have implicated the central extended amygdala (EAc)-a neuroanatomical concept that includes the central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST)-as a key neural substrate for the expression of anxious and inhibited behavior. An improved understanding of how early-life behavioral inhibition relates to an increased lifetime risk of anxiety disorders-and how this relationship is mediated by alterations in the EAc-could lead to improved treatments and preventive strategies. In this study, we explored the relationships between infant behavioral inhibition and peri-adolescent defensive behavior and brain metabolism in 18 female rhesus monkeys. We coupled a mildly threatening behavioral assay with concurrent multimodal neuroimaging, and related those findings to various measures of infant temperament. To score the behavioral assay, we developed and validated UC-Freeze, a semi-automated machine-learning (ML) tool that uses unsupervised clustering to quantify freezing. Consistent with previous work, we found that heightened Ce metabolism predicted elevated defensive behavior (i.e., more freezing) in the presence of an unfamiliar human intruder. Although we found no link between infant-inhibited temperament and peri-adolescent EAc metabolism or defensive behavior, we did identify infant nervous temperament as a significant predictor of peri-adolescent defensive behavior. Our findings suggest a connection between infant nervous temperament and the eventual development of anxiety and depressive disorders. Moreover, our approach highlights the potential for ML tools to augment existing behavioral neuroscience methods.

Temperament Behaviours in Individually Tested Sheep Are Not Related to Behaviours Expressed in the Presence of Conspecifics.

Individual behavioural testing in sheep is common; however, outcomes may be misleading as they are a highly gregarious species that is usually managed in groups. We investigated whether behaviour expressed by 3-4-month-old Merino lambs (n = 220) in social isolation was related to their behaviour towards the same stimuli when three other conspecifics were present, and if measures of temperament (vocalisations and locomotory behaviours) were repeatable across both social situations. Expression of all behaviours were reduced when conspecifics were present, and vocalisations were rarely performed in social groups, suggesting that this behaviour is a response to social isolation. Similarities across the two social situations, in ranked order of how individual lambs expressed each behaviour, indicate that vigilance and attentional orienting towards a human were repeatable (p < 0.001), as was vigilance in a startle test (p < 0.05). However, no clear relationship between behaviours expressed across the two social situations was found. The results of this study suggest that testing sheep individually should be conducted with caution where the outcome is applied to animals managed in groups. Vigilance shows promise as a measure of an underlying trait that is stable across social contexts.

Maternal Parenting Styles and Middle Childhood Temperament Patterns: A Comparison Between Two Social Classes Residing in an Urban Community

Background: Parenting refers to the usual approaches that parents use in child rearing and is one of the many aspects that play a role in the development of both adaptive and maladaptive behavior in children and adolescents. Parenting styles may be authoritarian, authoritative, or permissive. Temperament refers to the stylistic aspect of behavior and individual differences in behavioral characteristics. This study aimed to compare maternal parenting styles and childhood temperamental patterns between two socioeconomic classes. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Sixty mothers from middle and lower socioeconomic status residing in an urban community in Hyderabad were chosen for the study. Data was collected from January to February 2020. Every participant was a mother of two children in the age group 6–12 years. A semi-structured intake proforma was used, along with the Temperament Measurement Schedule and Parental Styles Questionnaire. Factorial ANOVA was used to explore the differences among the different groups. Results: In 76% of the participants, the predominant parenting style was found to be authoritative. Statistically significant differences in parenting styles were seen between the middle and low socioeconomic status groups. Parenting styles differed with the gender of the child. The education of the mother influenced the parenting style. Illiterate participants and participants who did not have at least tenth-grade education had an authoritarian parenting style. Second-born children scored high on the sociability factor compared to firstborn children. The difference between first- and second-born children was statistically significant. Socioeconomic status and the gender of the child had a statistically significant association. Conclusions: Parenting is a complex phenomenon that is influenced by many factors, social class being one such factor.

Longitudinal and Concurrent Effortful Control as Predictors of Risky Bicycling in Adolescence: Moderating Effects of Age and Gender.

Collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles are one of the leading risk factors for injury and death in childhood and adolescence. We examined longitudinal and concurrent effortful control (EC) as predictors of risky bicycling behavior in early- to mid-adolescence, with age and gender as moderators. We also examined whether EC was associated with parent-reported real-world bicycling behavior and all lifetime unintentional injuries. Parent-reported EC measures were collected when children (N = 85) were 4 years old and when they were either 10 years (N = 42) or 15 years (N = 43) old. We assessed risky bicycling behavior by asking the adolescents to bicycle across roads with high-density traffic in an immersive virtual environment. Parents also reported on children's real-world bicycling behavior and lifetime unintentional injuries at the time of the bicycling session. We found that both longitudinal and concurrent EC predicted adolescents' gap choices, though these effects were moderated by age and gender. Lower parent-reported early EC in younger and older girls predicted a greater willingness to take tight gaps (3.5 s). Lower parent-reported concurrent EC in older boys predicted a greater willingness to take gaps of any size. Children lower in early EC started bicycling earlier and were rated as less cautious bicyclists as adolescents. Adolescents lower in concurrent EC were also rated as less cautious bicyclists and had experienced more lifetime unintentional injuries requiring medical attention. Early measures of child temperament may help to identify at-risk populations who may benefit from parent-based interventions.

Prenatal anticipatory stress: Baby preparation and worry scale-revised in the Dutch context

BackgroundPrenatal distress encompasses a range of different emotions, worries, and experiences of stress. The Baby Preparation and Worry Scale (Baby-PAWS) was recently developed to target anticipatory worries during pregnancy about the postnatal period. However, the Baby-PAWS questionnaire was only examined in the United States of America, limiting the questionnaire's generalizability to different countries. To address this issue, we performed a psychometric evaluation of the questionnaire in a Dutch sample and examined associations between the Baby-PAWS questionnaire and established measures of maternal distress (i.e., EPDS, STAI, PRAQ-R) and infant temperament (i.e., IBQ-R). MethodsHealthy pregnant women (N = 521) completed questionnaires during their third trimester and postnatally, including the Baby-PAWS and distress measures. A subsample of mothers (N = 194) also reported on infant temperament at 12 weeks postpartum. ResultsExploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor structure for the 16-item questionnaire in our Dutch sample, as compared to the expected three-factor structure found in the original psychometric evaluation with the American sample. The total Baby-PAWS score was related to pre-and postnatal depression, anxiety, stress, and specific scales of infant temperament. American women scored higher on the Baby-PAWS items than Dutch women. LimitationsOur participants had higher-than-average socioeconomic status, limiting the generalizability of the findings. ConclusionThe current analyses indicate good validity of the Baby-PAWS in a Dutch sample. Furthermore, our results highlight cross-cultural differences in perinatal mental health and show the importance of examining instrument structure of context-dependent constructs, such as prenatal worries.

The Relationship Between Emotion Dysregulation and Error Monitoring in Adolescents with ADHD.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is emblematic of the limitations of existing diagnostic categories. One potential solution, consistent with the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative, is to interrogate psychological mechanisms at the behavioral and physiological level together to try and identify meaningful subgroups within existing categories. Such approaches provide a way to revise diagnostic boundaries and clarify individual variation in mechanisms. Here, we illustrate this approach to help resolve heterogeneity in ADHD using a combination of behaviorally-rated temperament measures from the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire; cognitive performance on three difference conditions of an emotional go/no-go task; and electroencephalogram (EEG)-measured variation in multiple stages of error processing, including the error-related negativity (ERN) and positivity (Pe). In a large (N = 342), well-characterized sample of adolescents with ADHD, latent profile analysis identified two ADHD temperament subgroups: 1) emotionally regulated and 2) emotionally dysregulated (with high negative affect). Cognitive and EEG assessment in a subset of 272 adolescents (nADHD = 151) found that the emotionally dysregulated group showed distinct patterns of change in early neural response to errors (ERN) across emotional task conditions as compared to emotionally-regulated ADHD adolescents and typically-developing controls. Both ADHD groups showed blunted later response to errors (Pe) that was stable across emotional task conditions. Overall, neural response patterns identified important differences in how trait and state emotion interact to affect cognitive processing. Results highlight important temperament variation within ADHD that helps clarify its relationship to the ERN, one of the most prominent putative neural biomarkers for psychopathology.

Identifying an avid eating profile in childhood: Associations with temperament, feeding practices and food insecurity

This study aimed to identify distinct eating behaviour profiles in young children and examine how other key predictors of children's eating behaviour, including child temperament, the experience of food insecurity, or parental feeding practices, may vary by identified profiles. An online survey was conducted with 995 parents/carers living in England and Wales (N = 995, Mage = 35.4 years, 80% female, 88% White). Participants reported on their child's eating behaviour using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and completed measures of child temperament, household food security and parental feeding practices. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was carried out to identify distinct eating profiles amongst the children (36–72 months, Mage = 48.8 months, 52% female). Four eating profiles emerged from the sample of children: (a) avid eating, (b) avoidant eating, (c) happy eating, and (d) typical eating. Avid eating (21.9% of children) was characterised by higher levels of food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, and emotional over-eating in combination with lower satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating and food fussiness. Children with an avid eating profile were reported to be more surgent and experienced greater food insecurity than all other eating profiles. Parents of children belonging to the avid eating profile showed significantly greater use of food for emotional regulation, varied and balanced food provision, restriction of food for health, and restriction of food for weight feeding practices than the three other eating profiles.

Infant visual preference for the mother’s face and longitudinal associations with emotional reactivity in the first year of life

Past research has focused on infants’ visual preference for the mother’s face, however it is still unknown how these responses change over time and what factors associate with such changes. A longitudinal study (N ~ 60) was conducted to investigate the trajectories of infant visual preference for the mother’s face and how these are related to the development of emotional reactivity in the first year of life. Two face stimuli (i.e., the infant’s mother and a consistent stranger face) were used in a visual preference task at 2 weeks, 4, 6, and 9 months of age. At each time point, mothers were asked to complete a measure of infant temperament via standardised questionnaires. Our results show that while at 2 weeks, 4 months and 9 months of age infants looked equally at both faces, infants at 6 months looked significantly longer at their mother’s face. We also observed prospective associations with emotional reactivity variables so that infants who looked longer at the mother’s face at 6 months showed higher falling reactivity, i.e. a better ability to recover from distress, at 9 months. We discuss these findings in light of the roles that both infant development and the caregiver play in emerging emotion regulation capacities during the first year of life.

0124 The influence of the family environment on children’s sleep during the school year and summer

Abstract Introduction More than a third of US children do not receive adequate sleep. Earlier bedtimes, consistent bedtime routines, and good sleep hygiene help to support more adequate sleep. Our previous work has shown that during summer, 5-8-year-old children go to bed later and obtain less sleep compared to the school year. We hypothesized that school year-summer differences in the family environment would explain differences in children’s sleep timing during these periods. Methods During the school year and summer, 119 parents of 5–8-year-olds completed measures of child temperament, sleep hygiene, parenting practices, and parent stress and social support. Child sleep was measured for 8 days using wrist actigraphs. Sleep onset and offset were determined using the Sadeh algorithm and sleep diaries to determine sleep midpoint. Paired samples t-tests examined school year-summer differences in family environment variables and stepwise linear regression analyses were used to examine the effect of the family environment on sleep midpoint, controlling for age, gender, chronotype, and sleep duration. Results Compared to the school year, during summer parents reported less parent-child conflict before bed (t(117)=3.913, p&amp;lt;.001), less consistent bedtime routines (t(117)=4.808, p&amp;lt;.001), and average daily screen use (t(117)=-2.756, p=.007) and greater child surgency or impulsivity (t(108)=-2.960, p=.004. Overall, our model explained 48% of the variance in children’s sleep timing during the school year (p=&amp;lt;.001) and 45% during the summer (p=&amp;lt;.001). In the final model, greater caffeine intake (β=2.1, p=.033), later chronotype (β=0.4, p=&amp;lt;.001) and greater effortful control or self-regulatory skills (β=0.2, p=.047) predicted having a later sleep midpoint during the school year. During the summer, less consistent bedtime routines and later chronotype (β=0.3, p=.002) predicted having a later sleep midpoint (β=-0.2, p=.022). Conclusion The relaxed nature of the summer family environment likely contributes to decreased conflict over bedtime, increased child media use, and decreased bedtime routine consistency. However, only decreases in bedtime routine consistency contributed to later bedtimes during summer. Worryingly, 5-8-year-olds appear to be using caffeine during the school year contributing to later sleep timing. Addressing summer bedtime routines and children’s school-year caffeine intake are important targets for intervention to improve children’s sleep. Support (if any) Texas Children's Pediatric Pilot Award

Juvenile social play predicts docility in Belding’s ground squirrels

We evaluated the hypothesis that social play behavior influences the development of temperament in young animals, using docility as a measure of temperament. We observed the play behavior of juvenile Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) during the developmental period in which play primarily occurs and conducted behavioral tests measuring docility at the beginning and toward the end of the play interval. Tests involved handling squirrels and recording their responses. We observed a significant but weak association between body mass and docility at the beginning of the play period, suggesting that docility may vary with size or energetic variables. Docility decreased significantly among juveniles over the play interval, and rates of social play were reliable predictors of change in docility. Juveniles who played at higher rates tended to have greater decreases in docility over the play interval, suggesting that social play might refine temperament toward more active responses in U. beldingi. Rates of social play among juveniles were reliable predictors of their scores on docility tests as yearlings, suggesting that possible effects of juvenile play on docility may extend beyond the juvenile period. Among mothers of juveniles in the study, docility during gestation and lactation were reliable predictors of docility after emergence of young from the natal burrow. However, docility of mothers decreased significantly between gestation and emergence of young, suggesting that although squirrels have individual tendencies toward docility, the expression of these tendencies may be influenced by behavioral context.Significance statementThis study helps to elucidate ways in which juvenile social play influences the development of young animals. Various studies have suggested that juvenile play influences motor, social, and cognitive development. Here, we show an association between juvenile social play and development of temperament in Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi). Juveniles who engaged in play at higher rates across the play interval had greater behavioral shifts from passive toward active responses. Refinements in temperament toward more proactive behavior might have benefits for young animals such as better preparing them to explore, investigate, and gather information about their social and physical environments as they venture away from their natal areas.

Early temperament and physical health in school-age children: Applying a short temperament measure in a population-based cohort.

Temperament has drawn considerable attention in the understanding of behavioural problems and psychopathology across developmental stages. However, less of a focus has been placed on the role of temperament in physical aspects of health. We aimed to examine the relations between early temperament traits and physical health in school-age children. This study used longitudinal data of 18,994 children (52.4% boys) born in 2005 from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study, in which follow-up surveys were conducted via face-to-face interviews with the child's caregiver. Temperament at 5.5 years of age was assessed using a nine-item measure, and two higher-order temperament traits, surgency and regulation, were derived through confirmatory factor analysis. Physical health outcomes at age 8 included caregiver-rated general health status and medically attended injuries. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied, with the child's birth outcome, early health status or injury history, health behaviours and family socioeconomic status as control variables. The results indicated that higher levels of surgency and regulation, as early temperament traits, significantly predicted lower odds of caregiver-rated poor health in later years. Higher level of regulation was also associated with lower odds of injury risk. Our findings suggest that assessing early temperament traits could be useful for the promotion and management of physical health in young school-age children.

Temperament and character in an Australian sample: examining cross-sectional associations of personality with age, sex, and satisfaction with life.

Personality can influence how we interpret and react to our day-to-day life circumstances. Temperament and character are the primary dimensions of personality, and both are influenced genetically. Temperament represents our emotional core, while character reflects our goals and values as we develop through life. Research shows that where people live, their social, economic, and physical environment can influence attitudes and behaviors, and these have links to variations in personality traits. There are few studies that focus on Australian personality as temperament and character. Using an Australian general population sample, we examined the psychometric properties of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCIR140) and investigated the associations between TCIR140 traits with both sociodemographic variables and measures of well-being. In addition, we investigated differences in temperament and character between our Australian general population sample and published results of similar studies from other countries. Australians (N=1,510) completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCIR-140), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined the TCIR-140 psychometrics. Correlation analyzes, independent sample t-tests and ANOVA with post-hoc comparisons analyzed the sample. Cronbach's alphas were high, ranging from α=0.78-0.92, and the CFA confirmed two constructs of temperament and character. Females were higher in Harm Avoidance (p<0.001), Reward Dependence (p<0.001), and Cooperativeness (p<0.001) compared to males, who were higher in Self-Directedness (p<0.001). Age groups showed significant differences among all temperament and character traits (p<0.001) except for Reward Dependence (p=0.690). Young adults had the least resilient personality profile and poorest measures of well-being. Correlations with measures of temperament and character, well-being and affect were all in the expected direction. Temperament and character are related to indicators of wellbeing and differs by age and sex. This Australian sample demonstrate a temperament that is high in Persistence and a character high in Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness with an overall postive affect and a general satisfaction with life. In comparison to other countries, Australians in this sample differ in levels of several traits, demonstrating a cautious and independent temperament with a character that is cooperative, industrious, and self-reliant. Young-adults in comparison to older groups have a temperament and character profile that is prone to negative emotions and a lower satisfaction with life.

131 Investigating equine facial whorls and owner perceptions of temperament

Many stereotypes exist about facial whorls and temperament. A survey was created to assess facial whorls and owner perceptions of temperament. The survey included photo submissions of the horse's facial whorl(s) and statements (n = 17) describing temperament traits. Owners scored each statement's accuracy for their horse on a Likert scale (strongly disagree = 1 to strongly agree = 5). Owners for 61 horses completed the survey, but 7 horses were eliminated for unusable photos. Remaining horses (n = 54) were categorized by whorl number (WN), vertical whorl placement (VWP), and horizontal whorl placement (HWP) using a standard graphic overlay. Categories for VWP were low, middle, high, or very high, with the middle category level with eye position. Categories for HWP were center, left, and right. Total positive (PS) and negative (NS) scores were calculated as the sum of scores for traits typically perceived as positive vs. negative, respectively. Total PS tended (P < 0.10) to be affected by VWP, with horses with very high whorls (28.9 ± 2.2) scoring lower (P < 0.05) than horses with high whorls (35.0 ± 1.2) and tending to score lower (P < 0.10) than horses with middle whorls (35.0 ± 1.9). Scores for owner willingness to compete their horse (based on temperament alone)showed a significant (P < 0.05) effect of VWP, with horses with very high whorls (2.5 ± 0.6) scoring lower (P < 0.05) than horses with high whorls (4.1 ± 0.3) and tending to score lower (P < 0.10) than horses with middle whorls (3.9 ± 0.5). The remaining traits did not show any significant (P < 0.05) effects of whorl placement. Owners tended (P < 0.10) to score horses with single whorls (4.3 ± 0.2) higher than horses with multiple whorls (3.8 ± 0.3) for being friendly toward people, but also tended (P < 0.10) to score horses with single whorls (1.8 ± 0.2) higher than horses with multiple whorls (1.1 ± 0.3) for being prone to biting/striking/kicking. Overall, owners tended to give horses with very high whorls a lower total score for desirable temperament traits and a lower score for their willingness to compete those horses. While additional tendencies were noted for horses with single vs. multiple whorls, the specific traits involved seem to contradict each other. Additional investigation with a larger sample size and more objective measures of temperament would be beneficial.