title: Individual differences in infant fixation duration relate to attention and behavioral control in childhood.
abstract: Individual differences in fixation duration are considered a reliable measure of attentional control in adults. However, the degree to which individual differences in fixation duration in infancy (0-12 months) relate to temperament and behavior in childhood is largely unknown. In the present study, data were examined from 120 infants (mean age = 7.69 months, SD = 1.90) who previously participated in an eye-tracking study. At follow-up, parents completed age-appropriate questionnaires about their child's temperament and behavior (mean age of children = 41.59 months, SD = 9.83). Mean fixation duration in infancy was positively associated with effortful control (β = 0.20, R (2) = .02, p = .04) and negatively with surgency (β = -0.37, R (2) = .07, p = .003) and hyperactivity-inattention (β = -0.35, R (2) = .06, p = .005) in childhood. These findings suggest that individual differences in mean fixation duration in infancy are linked to attentional and behavioral control in childhood.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London.
authors.forename: Kostas A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Papageorgiou
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London.
authors.forename: Tim J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London.
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London.
authors.forename: Natasha Z
authors.initials: NZ
authors.lastname: Kirkham
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London a.ronald@bbk.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ronald
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D032763:Behavior Control / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007223:Infant; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament
keywords: attention; behavior; fixation duration; individual differences; temperament