A study of the "inversion of intensity" between newborn and preschool-age behavior

Abstract

To test the inversion of intensity interpretation based on negative relations between newborn and preschool intensity behaviors (Bell, Weller, & Waldrop 1971), 106 normal children were examined at the neonatal and preschool periods. Data analyses were carried out in 2 parts: Part I was an attempt to reconstruct the same measures of intensity Bell et al. used at both periods, and Part II was a broader factor analytic analysis using all measures conceptually related to intensity in the neonatal and preschool periods. In Part I, several correlations were in the direction consistent with inversion, but only 1 of 20 correlations reached significance. In Part II, several significant correlations between intensity behavior at newborn and preschool periods were obtained, indicating intense newborn behavior to be related to low levels of socially negative behaviors. Interpretations of intensity behaviors at both periods and their longitudinal relations are discussed.