title: Predicting preschool behavior problems from temperament and other variables in infancy.
abstract: There is uncertainty about the relationship between difficult temperament in infancy and reported problem behaviors later in childhood. In this study data from a large, representative community cohort (total N studied = 1583) were used to determine whether preschool behavior problems (at age 4 to 5 years) could be predicted from difficult temperament and other variables in infancy. Maternal ratings of difficult temperament on the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire predicted only 17.5% of those with preschool behavior problems, a percentage not significantly greater than the 14% of the total sample rated as having problems. There was some improvement in prediction when difficult temperament was added to other variables such as male sex (28%). However, mothers' overall rating of temperament was a more powerful predictor of preschool behavior problems, both alone (26.0%) and in combination with other variables such as perinatal stress (36.8%), male sex (29.5%), and non-Australian parent (29.4%). Similarly, maternal reports of infant behavior problems was a more powerful predictor of preschool behavior problems both alone (21.8%) and in combination with male sex (24.6%), low socioeconomic status (26.1%), non-Australian parent (21.8%), and nurse's overall rating of temperament (21.8%). The best consistent predictor of later problems was the combination of mothers' overall rating of temperament and maternal reports of infant behavior problems (27.0%), especially when combined with other infant variables such as perinatal stress (35.3%), male sex (31.5%), and non-Australian parent (30.0%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Ambulatory Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oberklaid
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sanson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pedlow
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prior
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000592:standards; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D002666:Psychology, Child; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D013694:Temperament