<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.

No description available.

Motherhood is a rewarding, but challenging experience. Mothers are expected to balance parenting with multiple roles including employment. How mothers adjust is influenced by their confidence in their role, their mental health, the social support from their partner, family, and friends, and their perceptions of their infants (Mercer, 1995). Maternal confidence has been identified in the literature as an essential variable in the adaptation to motherhood and to the maternal role (Mercer, 1986; Walker, Crain, & Thompson, 1986). Low maternal confidence delays the transitioning into the maternal role/identity as well as limits the satisfaction in the mothering role (Mercer, 1986). Having infants with difficult temperament further impedes this transition resulting in frustration with new mothers and possibly depression (Andrews, 1990). This study used a descriptive correlational design to explore the relationship between infant temperament and selected maternal factors (education, prior childcare experience, social support, and depression) and maternal confidence. A convenience sample of 94 primiparous mothers with infants 6 weeks to 32 weeks participated in this study. SPSS statistical software version 10.0 was used to analyze data and answer the following research questions: 1) What is the relationship between infant temperament, and selected maternal factors (education, prior childcare experience, social support, and depression), and maternal confidence of first-time mothers during their child’s infancy?; 2) What are the differences in maternal confidence between first-time mothers with infants’ age 6 weeks - 16 weeks and first-time mothers with infants’ age 17 weeks – 32 weeks? Results revealed statistical significant relationships between infant temperament, social support, and depression with maternal confidence. Social support also had statistically significant relationships with education and depression. Infant temperament, social support, and depression predicted 20.6% of the variance with maternal confidence. There was also a significant difference between groups with mothers’ perception of their infants’ temperament. Healthcare providers need to be aware that mothers who suffer from depression, have low social support, and perceive their infants to have difficult temperament are at risk for having low confidence in the care they provide for their infants. Further research is needed to explore intervention methods aimed at increasing maternal confidence with new mothers.