Results of a 10-year longitudinal study on the developmental-behavioural significance
of infant temperamental difficultness are presented. A cross-time, cross-context
methodology was employed using data from over 100 children participating in the
Fullerton Longitudinal Study. Difficult temperament was assessed at 1.5 years by
mothers; behaviour problems were assessed by parents during the third year and
annually from 4-12 and by teachers from 6-11 years. Temperamental difficultness
correlated significantly, pervasively, and to moderate magnitudes with parent
reports of behaviour problems from 3.25-12 years. Additionally, analyses using
clinical cutpoints showed that 1.5-year-olds deemed temperamentally difficult
evidenced a greater frequency of elevated scores, specifically, attention problems,
aggressive behaviour, and thought problems (parents) and attention and thought
problems (teachers). These data provide evidence for the ecological validity of
parent reports of temperament and for a temperamental component in the development
of childhood behaviour problems.
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