Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May;38(4):485-95.
doi: 10.1007/s10802-009-9379-0.

Toddlers' temperament profiles: stability and relations to negative and positive parenting

Alithe L van den Akker  1 , Maja Deković, Peter Prinzie, Jessica J Asscher
Affiliations

Toddlers' temperament profiles: stability and relations to negative and positive parenting

Alithe L van den Akker et al. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2010 May.

Erratum in

Abstract

This study investigated the type and stability of temperament profiles in toddlers, and relations of profile probability to negative and positive parenting trajectories. Mothers (N = 96) rated their child's (41 girls and 54 boys) Sociability, Anger Proneness, and Activity Level four times during 1 year. The assessment of parenting included both maternal self-reports and observational measures. Latent profile analysis indicated three child temperament profiles: a well-adjusted 'typical' profile, an 'expressive' profile with heightened externalizing problems, and a 'fearful' profile with heightened internalizing problems. Although toddlers' profile classifications were highly stable across 1 year, individual differences in (changes in) toddlers' temperament profile probability occurred. We identified negative and positive parenting as environmental mechanisms that were related to the development of temperament profiles over time. These results support the notion that, in addition to having a genetic base, temperament is subject to maturation and experience over time.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Standardized means for the three temperament traits for each of the profiles in the three-profile solution
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage of participants classified into each temperament profile at each time point. Arrows indicate pathways between time points identified as statistical types. Numbers at arrows indicate percentage of participants out of the total number in each cross-tabulation. Statistical antitypes are not shown
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Achenbach TM. Manual for the child behavior checklist/ 2–3 and 1992 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry; 1992.
    1. Aksan N, Goldsmith HH, Smider NA, Essex MJ, Clark R, Hyde JS, et al. Derivation and prediction of temperamental types among preschoolers. Developmental Psychology. 1999;35:958–971. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.35.4.958. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alink LRA, Mesman J, Van Zeijl J, Stolk MN, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, Van IJzendoorn MH. Maternal sensitivity moderates the relation between negative discipline and aggression in early childhood. Social Development. 2009;18:99–120. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00478.x. - DOI
    1. Asendorpf JB, van Aken MAG. Resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled personality prototypes in childhood: replicability, predictive power, and the trait-type issue. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1999;77:815–832. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.77.4.815. - DOI - PubMed
    1. van Bakel HJA, Riksen-Walraven JM. Quality of infant-parent attachment as reflected in infant interactive behaviour during instructional tasks. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2002;43:387–394. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00029. - DOI - PubMed