title: Developing perceptions of temperament and their relation to mother and infant behavior.
abstract: Controversies about temperamental assessments raise questions about whether questionnaires, which assess parental perceptions of temperament, validly measure within-child characteristics. Thirty-eight couples were recruited from childbirth classes for a short-term longitudinal study. Mother's perceptions of activity, rhythmicity and mood were moderately stable from late pregnancy to 6 mth postnatally. Only father's perceptions of activity were stable during this time. Infants rated by parents as difficult on the Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire at 6 mth were rated by observers as less responsive while being fed by their mothers. Results are discussed in the context of influences on parental perceptions of temperament.
mesh_terms: D002652:Child Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality; D011247:Pregnancy; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament