A large body of evidence has accumulated which indicates that infants of postpartum depressed mothers are at risk for negative sequelae including later psychopathology. However, methodological difficulties including discordant definitions of postpartum depression and the use of paradigms which used the mother-infant relationship to assess infant emotional expression and regulation have decreased the ability to reach a consensus regarding the nature and transmission of that risk. This study sought to address those methodological difficulties by employing an established paradigm designed to elicit emotionality in infants, the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB; Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1999). Participants were 30 women who met DSM-IV criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), 50 women who did not meet MDD criteria, and their 8-13 month old infants. The women were recruited from five counties within Iowa which contain both rural and urban centers. Consistent with state demographics the sample was predominantly Caucasian (76%). Mother-infant dyads were assessed approximately five months after the mother had completed a diagnostic interview. At that time six episodes from the Lab-TAB designed to elicit fear, anger, and positive affect were conducted. Emotional reactivity was coded used the AFFEX (Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1988) and composite scores were generated for each emotion. Infants of depressed mothers exhibited less intense pleasure to stimuli designed to elicit that emotion. There was also a slight, non-significant, trend for infants of depressed mothers to display more intense fear and to remain fearful longer. There was not a difference between the groups in anger expression. Emotional regulation was examined using a set of procedures set-forth by Buss and Goldsmith (1998) to determine effective regulation. These procedures involve calculating the change in affect from the coding epoch in which a "putative regulatory behavior" is displayed to the epoch immediately after the behavior. Change scores which involved no change in affect or a decrease in negative affect were considered effective regulation. Playing with clothing or an object and interacting with the stimulus were effective at regulating both fear and anger. In addition, averting gaze (disengaging with the task) was effective in regulating anger. Follow-up analysis revealed that infants of depressed mothers used gaze aversion more frequently than infants of nondepressed mothers. In addition, they were less likely to engage in social referencing (looking toward the mother) during episodes designed to elicit fear. The findings of this study are consistent with a growing body of evidence which documents the significance of considering low positive affect in examination of diagnosis and risk for depression and suggests that fear expression may be central to anxiety. Furthermore, results from the emotional regulation paradigms underscore the need for continued examination of the construct of "effective regulation." In addition, these results highlight disruptions in the mother-infant relationship which have implications for developing efficient regulatory mechanisms.

<p>I flera studier beskrivs hur traumatiska barndomsupplevelser och försummelse har samband med psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa i vuxen ålder. Studier visar även hur personlighet (temperament och karaktär) har samband med utvecklande av psykiska problem. I denna studie undersöks dessa faktorer tillsammans, dvs hur förekomsten av problematiska barndomsupplevelser tillsammans med temperamentsfaktorer i personligheten kan predicera olika aspekter av psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa såsom mognad, depression, ångest, social integration samt anknytning. Studien genomfördes i en studentpopulation (n = 228; 31 % män) där studenterna besvarade enkät inkluderade: CTQ BF som mäter barndomsupplevelser, personlighetstestet TCI. Vidare inkluderades SS13 som mäter social integration och anknytning samt HAD som mäter ångest och depression. Resultatet visade att det fanns signifikanta skillnader kön. Män uppgav större nätverk, medan kvinnor uppgav mer tillgång till intima anknytningspersoner. Kvinnor rapporterade också mer ångest. Ungefär samma andel i båda könen (knappt 9 %) rapporterade svåraste grad av barndomsproblem i minst en av fem olika typer. En nyskapad skala i den modifierade CTQ-BF, kallad Tillsyn, visade också på könsskillnader samt acceptabel reliabilitetsnivå. Skalans betydelse är intressant både som predicerande faktor till psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa samt för vidare forskning. De multivariata analyserna visade att temperamentsfaktorer i hög grad bidrar till förklarad varians i alla studerade former av psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa, men också att erfarenhet av känslomässig försummelse tycks ha en egen separat betydelse när det gäller social integration och anknytning. Förhoppningsvis bidrar studien till att utveckla teoriutvecklingen när det gäller barndomsupplevelsernas och temperamentets betydelse för psykosocial hälsa hos vuxna.</p>

The ability to regulate emotions is thought to influence the development of positive peer relations in early childhood. By effectively regulating fear and anger in peer settings, social interactions tend to unfold in a smooth and successful manner, leading children to become socially competent over time. Fear regulation, however, is especially difficult for children who were highly reactive and frequently expressed negative affect as infants. These children, often referred to as having an inhibited temperament, are likely to become distressed by novel stimuli and show a high degree of vigilance and anxious behaviors as toddlers. After toddlerhood, research has shown that some of these children handle novel, social situations in a competent manner, whereas others continue along the pathway of inhibition and become socially reticent. Socially reticent children often engage in hovering behavior and stay on the outskirts of the peer group, which can have negative consequences for the development of positive peer relations. One factor that influences inhibited toddlers to follow one pathway versus another seems to be whether they have learned to effectively regulate emotions. The acquisition of emotion regulation strategies is a complex process, but parents usually have the most proximal influence during early childhood. Therefore, in order to learn more about promoting socially competent behavior, it is important to understand how parents are socializing emotion regulation in toddlerhood. Using data from a larger longitudinal study, the current study examined how the socialization of emotion regulation at age three influenced social engagement at age four among behaviorally inhibited toddlers. It was hypothesized that sensitive maternal socialization of emotion regulation strategies would predict higher levels of engagement in future peer social interactions.

The current study took a multi-method approach to examine the influence of temperament on children’s social problem solving (SPS) abilities and, in turn, whether SPS skills are a mechanism through which early temperament influences later social and academic adjustment. Participants included 270 children. Maternal reports of temperament were collected when the children were 2, 3, and 4 years old. At age 5, children were observed while interacting with an unfamiliar peer during an SPS task. At age 7, children were directly assessed on their academic achievement and completed measures of social adjustment. Both reactive and self-regulatory aspects of temperament related to the development of SPS, however, SPS did not relate to adjustment outcomes. Future studies may consider the use of a global SPS coding scheme that captures the integration of various SPS related skills. There was no direct effect of shyness on academic achievement, adding to the mixed literature on the relation between shyness and academics. There was also no direct effect of shyness on child self-report of social adjustment, suggesting that children rated high in shyness are likely forming mutual friendships with their peers, leading to self-perceptions of good friendship quality. Taken together, results suggest that shyness may not always be a risk factor for poor developmental outcomes. There was a positive direct effect of self-regulation on academic achievement, however, no effect on social adjustment. These results suggest that the various dimensions of self-regulation may relate differently to developmental outcomes.

I flera studier beskrivs hur traumatiska barndomsupplevelser och försummelse har samband med psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa i vuxen ålder. Studier visar även hur personlighet (temperament och karaktär) har samband med utvecklande av psykiska problem. I denna studie undersöks dessa faktorer tillsammans, dvs hur förekomsten av problematiska barndomsupplevelser tillsammans med temperamentsfaktorer i personligheten kan predicera olika aspekter av psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa såsom mognad, depression, ångest, social integration samt anknytning. Studien genomfördes i en studentpopulation (n = 228; 31 % män) där studenterna besvarade enkät inkluderade: CTQ BF som mäter barndomsupplevelser, personlighetstestet TCI. Vidare inkluderades SS13 som mäter social integration och anknytning samt HAD som mäter ångest och depression. Resultatet visade att det fanns signifikanta skillnader kön. Män uppgav större nätverk, medan kvinnor uppgav mer tillgång till intima anknytningspersoner. Kvinnor rapporterade också mer ångest. Ungefär samma andel i båda könen (knappt 9 %) rapporterade svåraste grad av barndomsproblem i minst en av fem olika typer. En nyskapad skala i den modifierade CTQ-BF, kallad Tillsyn, visade också på könsskillnader samt acceptabel reliabilitetsnivå. Skalans betydelse är intressant både som predicerande faktor till psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa samt för vidare forskning. De multivariata analyserna visade att temperamentsfaktorer i hög grad bidrar till förklarad varians i alla studerade former av psykosocial hälsa/ohälsa, men också att erfarenhet av känslomässig försummelse tycks ha en egen separat betydelse när det gäller social integration och anknytning. Förhoppningsvis bidrar studien till att utveckla teoriutvecklingen när det gäller barndomsupplevelsernas och temperamentets betydelse för psykosocial hälsa hos vuxna.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to identify, in a large representative sample of Canadian children, the age-related trajectories of overweight and obesity from toddlerhood into childhood and (b) to investigate the associations between these trajectories and children’s temperaments, their parents’ parenting practices and their interactions. Potentially important familial characteristics (i.e., the parents’ or surrogates’ age, income level, and educational attainment) were considered in the models. The sample for this study was drawn from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). Group-based mixture modeling analyses were conducted to identify the number and types of distinct trajectories in the development of obesity (i.e., to explicate the developmental processes in the variability of childhood obesity) in a representative sample of children who were between 24 to 35 months of age, at baseline, and followed biennially over a 6-year span. Discriminant analysis was conducted to assess the theoretical notion of goodness-of-fit between parenting practices and children’s temperament, and their association with membership in the BMI trajectory groups. The results of the group-based modeling established three different BMI trajectories for the boys, namely: stable-normal BMI, transient-high BMI, and j-curve obesity. The analyses revealed four different trajectories of BMI change for the girls: stable-normal BMI, early-declining BMI, late-declining BMI, and accelerating rise to obesity. The multivariate analysis revealed that the combined predictors of the obesity trajectories of the girls (group membership) included having a fussy temperament, ineffective parenting, and parents’ educational attainment. Predictors of the boys’ obesity trajectory (group membership) included household income, parental education, and effective parenting practices. Understanding the different ways in which a child may develop obesity will allow nurses and other health professionals to take different approaches in the assessment, intervention and evaluation of obesity and obesity-related health problems. The results of this study further our understanding of factors associated with the development of obesity at a young age and hence may inform the development of early preventive programs.

Controversy exists over the validity of child Openness to Experience (OE), which is typically considered a major trait in adult personality models. In an effort to establish construct validity for child OE, data were collected for 346 children (51% girls) approximately 9–10 years of age (M = 9.92, SD = 0.83). Parents completed questionnaires about their children’s personality, temperament, and behavioral problems and competencies. Factor analyses of relevant personality and temperament facets revealed a robust and measurable OE factor made up of three facets: Intellect, Imagination, and Sensitivity. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was established via associations with other higher-order personality traits, behavioral problems, and behavioral competencies. The results underscore the importance of drawing from both temperament and personality literatures in attempts to establish construct validity for child trait domains as well as of moving beyond the higher-order domain and examining facet-level associations between OE and child behavior.

Controversy exists over the validity of child Openness to Experience (OE), which is typically considered a major trait in adult personality models. In an effort to establish construct validity for child OE, data were collected for 346 children (51% girls) approximately 9–10 years of age (M = 9.92, SD = 0.83). Parents completed questionnaires about their children’s personality, temperament, and behavioral problems and competencies. Factor analyses of relevant personality and temperament facets revealed a robust and measurable OE factor made up of three facets: Intellect, Imagination, and Sensitivity. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was established via associations with other higher-order personality traits, behavioral problems, and behavioral competencies. The results underscore the importance of drawing from both temperament and personality literatures in attempts to establish construct validity for child trait domains as well as of moving beyond the higher-order domain and examining facet-level associations between OE and child behavior.

Two behavioural studies were conducted at the University of Saskatchewan beef feedlot. In the first study, the temperament of 400 steers was determined using both objective and subjective measures. The consistency of temperament, over repeated tests and between different measures, was also tested. The objective behavioural tests were conducted during the individual restraint of the steers using strain gauges and an MMD (movement-measuring-device). The time required for the steers to exit the area was also recorded. Subjective assessment of animals responsiveness during restraint was recorded on a scale of 1-5 (calm to wild). The consistency of individual differences in a steers response within the evaluation series and across repetitions, shows that this trait may represent a stable personality of the animal. The significant relationship between objective and subjective measures demonstrates that objective measures of temperament can be used to replace the traditional subjective scale as it has the added advantage of reducing inter- and intra-observer variability. The positive relationship of subjective scores and MMD values with the steers performance (average daily weight gain) shows not only that a calm temperament is conducive to productivity, but also that objective measures can replace subjective techniques for assessing temperament for performance evaluation. In the second study the reactivity of a subset of the original 400 steers (262 animals from 8 pens) to a novel stimulus was assessed. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if a steers behavioural response in the novel test was correlated to its temperament assessment determined in the first study. A remote controlled ball was dropped from the ceiling of a salt feeder while a steer licked the salt. Two overhead cameras connected to a monitor through a VCR and time lapse recorder permitted us to observe and document the response. A lack of correlation between measures of handling and novelty measures show that reactivity of animals in the handling chute and their responsiveness to the novel stimulus do not represent one and the same trait.

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