IAHRW International Journal of Social Sciences Review

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Influence of Child Temperament on Behavioral Problems among Preschoolers


Affiliations
1 Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Community Science University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Temperament is implicated as a possible precursor to behavior problems. In order to study the influence of temperament on behavioral problems among preschool children, a study was conducted on preschool children of both rural and urban localities of Dharwad district. A multi stage random sampling method was employed where three talukas out of five were randomly selected from Dharwad district and from these selected talukas, two villages each were selected. A total of ten anganwadi's from five villages with 213 children and from six urban anganwadi's from three cities of the selected talukas with 121 children formed the sample. The prevalence of behavioral problems was studied on 334 preschoolers while the influence of temperament on behavioral problems was carried out on a sub sample of 206 children nominated by teachers and peers. The ASEBA Child Behavior Checklist was administered to the class teachers to assess the behavioral problems. The prevalence of behavioral problems revealed that, 47.0 percent of preschoolers were in the borderline and 13.8 percent were in the clinical range while only 39.2 percent were in the normal category for behavioral problems. The children's behavior questionnaire by Putnam and Rothbart (2006) was to measure the child temperament and its dimensions, viz., surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity and effortful control. The results highlighted that, child temperament and its dimensions had no significant association with behavioral problems among rural preschoolers as majority of children in the clinical range were found to be normal on surgency, negative affect and effortful control. Among the rural preschoolers, surgency was found to be a contributing factor in predicting the behavioral problems while among urban preschoolers, both surgency and negative affect predicted the behavioral problems. Hence, to manage the temperamental effects among preschool children, primary health care professionals and school counselors may collaborate with parents using behavior modification techniques and different therapies.

Keywords

Temperament, Behavioral Problems, Surgency, Negative Affect, Effortful Control.
User
Subscription Login to verify subscription
Notifications
Font Size

  • Abdalla, E. E., EL-Dakhakhny, A. M., & Mohamed, B. M. (2018). Common behavioral problems among preschool children as perceived by their teachers. Zagazig Nursing Journal, 14(1), 93-115.

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles (Vol. 30). University of Vermont, Research Center for Children.

  • Calkins, S.D., & Degnan, K.A. (2006). Temperament in early development. In R Ammerman (Ed.), Comprehensive handbook of personality and psychopathology: Child psychopathology (Vol. 3). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

  • Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., & Coppotelli, H. (1982). Dimensions and types of status: A cross-age perspective. Developmental Psychology, 18, 557-570.

  • Cote, S.M., Vaillancourt, T., LeBlanc, J.C., Nagin, D.S., & Tremblay, R.E. (2006). The development of physical aggression from toddlerhood to pre-adolescence: A nation wide longitudinal study of Canadian children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(1), 71-85.

  • Hart, C., Olsen, S., Robinson, C., & Mandleco, B. L. (1995). The development of social and communicative competence in childhood: Review and a model of personal, familial, and extra familial processes. Communication Yearbook, 20, 305-373.

  • Kryski, K.R., Olino, T. M., Dyson, M. W., Durbin, C., Klein, D. N., & Hayden, E. P. (2017). Associations between observed temperament in preschoolers and parent psychopathology. Personal Mental Health, 12(2), 131-144.

  • Lavigne, J.V., Gibbons, R.D., & Christoffel, K.K. (1996). Prevalence rates and correlates of psychiatric disorders among preschool children. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 204-214.

  • Lavigne, J. V., Dahl, K. P., Gouze, K. R., LeBailly, S. A., & Hopkins, J. (2015). Multidomain predictors of oppositional defiant disorder symptoms in preschool children: Cross-informant differences. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 46(2), 308-319.

  • Lewis, A.J., & Olsson, C.A. (2011). Early life stress and child temperament style as predictors of childhood anxiety and depressive symptoms: Findings from the longitudinal study of Australian children. Depression Research and Treatment. 296026.

  • Maltby, L.E., Callahan, K.L., Friedlander, S., & Shetgiri, R. (2019). Infant temperament and behavioral problems: Analysis of high-risk infants in child welfare. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 13(5), 512-528.

  • Martel, M. M., & Nigg, J. T. (2006). Child ADHD and personality/temperament traits of reactive and effortful control, resiliency, and emotionality. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(11), 1175-1183.

  • Nigg, J.T. (2016). Temperament and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(34), 395-422.

  • Putnam, S. P., & Rothbart, M. K. (2006). Development of short and very short forms of the children's behavior questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 87(1), 103-113.

  • Putnam, S.P., Rothbart, M.K., & Gartstein, M.A. (2008). Homotypic and heterotypic continuity of fine-grained temperament during infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood. Infant and Child Development, 17, 387-405.

  • Rothbart, M.K. (2011). Becoming who we are: Temperament and personality in development. New York: Guilford Press.

  • Rothbart, M.K., & Bates, J.E. (2006). Temperament. In W. Damon, R. Lerner, and N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional, and personality development (Vol. 3, 6th ed., pp. 99-166). New York: Wiley.

  • Saudino, K.J. (2005). Behavioral genetics and child temperament. Journal of Development and Behavior Pediatrics, 26(3), 214-223.

  • Sayal, K., Heron, J., Maughan, B., Rowe, R., & Ramchandani, P. (2014). Infant temperament and childhood psychiatric disorder: Longitudinal study. Child Care Health Development, 40(2), 292-297.

  • Schmitz, S., Fulker, D.W., & Plomin, R. (1999). Temperament and problem behavior during early childhood. International Journal of Behavior Development, 23, 333-355.

  • Teekavanich, S., Chantaratin, S., Sirisakpanit, S., & Tarugsa, J. (2017). Prevalence and factors related to behavioral and emotional problems among preschool children in Bangkok, Thailand. Journal of Medical Association Thailand, 100(2), 175-182.

  • Van Doren, H. (2017). Child temperament and school readiness: Surgency/ extraversion, negative affect, effortful control, and pre-academics in preschool and kindergarten students. Master's Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School at Appalachian State University, USA.

  • Wiley (2017). Family factors may influence a child's temperament. Science Daily. Retrieved May 25, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/17072009 5022.htm


Abstract Views: 170

PDF Views: 0




  • Influence of Child Temperament on Behavioral Problems among Preschoolers

Abstract Views: 170  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

M. V. Mokashi
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Community Science University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

Abstract


Temperament is implicated as a possible precursor to behavior problems. In order to study the influence of temperament on behavioral problems among preschool children, a study was conducted on preschool children of both rural and urban localities of Dharwad district. A multi stage random sampling method was employed where three talukas out of five were randomly selected from Dharwad district and from these selected talukas, two villages each were selected. A total of ten anganwadi's from five villages with 213 children and from six urban anganwadi's from three cities of the selected talukas with 121 children formed the sample. The prevalence of behavioral problems was studied on 334 preschoolers while the influence of temperament on behavioral problems was carried out on a sub sample of 206 children nominated by teachers and peers. The ASEBA Child Behavior Checklist was administered to the class teachers to assess the behavioral problems. The prevalence of behavioral problems revealed that, 47.0 percent of preschoolers were in the borderline and 13.8 percent were in the clinical range while only 39.2 percent were in the normal category for behavioral problems. The children's behavior questionnaire by Putnam and Rothbart (2006) was to measure the child temperament and its dimensions, viz., surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity and effortful control. The results highlighted that, child temperament and its dimensions had no significant association with behavioral problems among rural preschoolers as majority of children in the clinical range were found to be normal on surgency, negative affect and effortful control. Among the rural preschoolers, surgency was found to be a contributing factor in predicting the behavioral problems while among urban preschoolers, both surgency and negative affect predicted the behavioral problems. Hence, to manage the temperamental effects among preschool children, primary health care professionals and school counselors may collaborate with parents using behavior modification techniques and different therapies.

Keywords


Temperament, Behavioral Problems, Surgency, Negative Affect, Effortful Control.

References