ABSTRACT
Four-month-old infants were screened (N = 433) for temperamental patterns thought to predict behavioral inhibition, including motor reactivity and the expression of negative affect. Those selected (N = 153) were assessed at multiple age points across the first 4 years of life for behavioral signs of inhibition as well as psychophysiological markers of frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry. Four-month temperament was modestly predictive of behavioral inhibition over the first 2 years of life and of behavioral reticence at age 4. Those infants who remained continuously inhibited displayed right frontal EEG asymmetry as early as 9 months of age while those who changed from inhibited to noninhibited did not. Change in behavioral inhibition was related to experience of nonparental care. A second group of infants, selected at 4 months of age for patterns of behavior thought to predict temperamental exuberance, displayed a high degree of continuity over time in these behaviors.
Subject(s)
Child Behavior/psychology , Infant Behavior/psychology , Inhibition, Psychological , Motor Skills/physiology , Acoustic Stimulation , Age Factors , Arousal/physiology , Child, Preschool , Electroencephalography , Female , Frontal Lobe/physiology , Humans , Infant , Interpersonal Relations , Male , Parent-Child Relations , Photic Stimulation , Play and Playthings , Reaction Time , Temperament/physiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Infant temperament is thought to provide one of the fundamental bases for social and emotional development. Few studies have examined the direct and indirect influences of early temperament and physiological disposition on later development. METHOD: This article presents results of a longitudinal study that took place between the years 1989 and 1996 in which the relations between maternal reports of negative reactivity at 9 months of age and maternal ratings and laboratory observations of social wariness and sociability at 4 years of age (n = 97) were examined. Also examined were the moderating roles of (1) frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry as assessed at 9 months of age and (2) the child's gender. RESULTS: Negative reactivity predicted social wariness for infants with right frontal EEG asymmetry, but not for those with left frontal EEG asymmetry and for boys but not girls. The only significant predictor of sociability was gender. Specifically, at 4 years of age girls were rated higher on the measure of sociability than were boys. CONCLUSION: The findings are discussed in terms of the roles of frontal EEG asymmetry and gender in moderating the impact of temperamental negative reactivity on later social behavior.
Subject(s)
Electroencephalography , Frontal Lobe/physiology , Social Behavior Disorders/psychology , Temperament , Adult , Child Behavior , Child Development , Child, Preschool , Cohort Studies , Female , Forecasting , Humans , Infant , Male , Mother-Child Relations , Sex Factors , Social Behavior Disorders/physiopathologyABSTRACT
Toddlers displaying extremely inhibited behavior may be at risk for becoming socially withdrawn. However, behavioral inhibition may be a multifaceted characteristic, and its concurrent relation to toddler wariness with peers has not been examined. In this study, 108 toddlers (54 females) and their mothers were observed in novel situations involving unfamiliar settings, adults, and peers. Vagal tone, temperament, separation-reunion behavior, and maternal oversolicitousness also were assessed. There was little consistency of inhibited behavior across the 3 situations. Consistently inhibited toddlers had fearful temperaments, showed distress following maternal separation, and had mothers who were warm and controlling but unresponsive to children's cues during interaction. Toddlers with highly fearful temperaments and highly oversolicitous mothers were the most inhibited across contexts.
