The structure and stability of temperament from infancy to toddlerhood: a one-year prospective study

Abstract

This study investigated the factor structure and longitudinal stability of temperament in a multi-informant (i.e., as reported by mothers and fathers), one-year prospective study from infancy (8-13 months) to toddlerhood (20-25 months). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) replicate and extend earlier studies; in that evidence was found for a three-factor structure for both infant and toddler temperament, consisting of Surgency/Extraversion, Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control. There were, especially in toddlerhood, few differences between mother and father reports in average scores on the three temperament factors, which were in part related to differences in parental involvement between mothers and fathers. In addition, there were few differences between average scores for boys and girls on these temperament factors, with the exception that both mothers and fathers rated girls higher on Effortful Control, and fathers rated boys higher on Extraversion/Surgency, especially in toddlerhood. Finally, results showed that the three factors showed high relative, absolute, and structural stability over a one-year period. The implications of these findings for contemporary temperament research are discussed.