title: Infant temperament and high-risk environment relate to behavior problems and language in toddlers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the role that easy infant temperament and cumulative environmental risk play in predicting cognitive, language, and behavioral outcomes in 3-year-old children at high social risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were 412 mother-infant dyads, recruited at birth, participating in a longitudinal study examining the effects of prenatal methamphetamine on child development. This analysis includes a subsample (n = 290) of the study with a completed 3-year visit. Temperament was assessed by the Infant Behavior Questionnaire at 12 months. Factor analysis from well-validated measures generated “easy” and “difficult” temperament profiles and a profile for high-risk environment. Caretaker receptive vocabulary served as a proxy for intelligence quotient. Outcomes at 3 years included motor and mental development, behavior problems, and language. Linear regression and hierarchical linear modeling examined the effects of temperament, high-risk environment, and caregiver receptive language on outcomes adjusting for maternal drug use and demographic and socioeconomic covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Internalizing and externalizing behaviors were lower in children with easy temperament and higher with increased environmental risk. Easy temperament attenuated behavioral problems only in the setting of lower environmental risk. Caregiver receptive language was associated with lower internalizing scores. High-risk environment and temperament factors were not related to cognitive or motor outcomes. Prenatal methamphetamine exposure was not associated with 3-year-old outcomes, nor did it alter the protective effects of an easier temperament on child behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CHILDREN growing up in adverse social environments had increased behavioral problems and compromised language development. Conversely, an easy temperament acts as a protective factor for social-emotional development and could be related to resilience.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, 1319 Punahou Street, Honolulu, HI 96826, USA. dderauf@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Derauf
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: LaGasse
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Elana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Rizwan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arria
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huestis
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Haning
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Sheri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Della Grotta
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dansereau
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lester
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012931:Social Environment; D013694:Temperament; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D008694:Methamphetamine