This study advances the cross-cultural temperament literature by comparing temperament ratings of toddlers from 14 nations. Multilevel modeling (MLM) procedures were utilized to regress negative emotionality (NE) and component subscales on Hofstede’s cultural value dimensions while controlling for age and gender. More individualistic values were associated with lower NE, and component discomfort, fear, motor activity, perceptual sensitivity, and soothability scales. The discomfort subscale was negatively associated with power distance and positively associated with masculine cultural values. Higher ratings of shyness were related to a more long-term cultural orientation. Results illustrate the feasibility of an MLM approach to cross-cultural research and provide a new perspective on the intersection of culture and temperament development. Limitations and future implications are discussed.
AchenbachT. M.RescorlaL. A. (2007). Multicultural understanding of child and adolescent psychopathology: Implications for mental health assessment. Guilford Press.
2.
AhadiS. A.RothbartM. K.YeR. M. (1993). Child temperament in the U.S. and China: Similarities and differences. European Journal of Personality, 7, 359–377.
3.
BornsteinM. H. (2013). Parenting and child mental health: A cross-cultural perspective. World Psychiatry 8, 12(3), 258–265.
4.
CampbellS. B.SpiekerS.BurchinalM.PoeM. D. (2006). Trajectories of aggression from toddlerhood to age 9 predict academic and social functioning through age 12. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 47(8), 791–800.
5.
CaspiA.MoffittT. E.NewmanD. L.SilvaP. A. (1996). Behavioral observations at age 3 years predict adult psychiatric disorders: Longitudinal evidence from a birth cohort. Archives Of General Psychiatry, 53, 1033–1039.
6.
ChenX.RubinK. H.HastingsP. D.ChenH.CenG.StewartS. L. (1998). Child-rearing attitudes and behavioral inhibition in Chinese and Canadian toddlers: A cross-cultural study. Developmental Psychology, 34(4), 677–686.
7.
ChungK.-M.EbesutaniC.BangH. M.KimJ.ChorpitaB. F.WeiszJ. R.SuhD.ByunH. (2013). Parenting stress and child behavior problems among clinic-referred youth: Cross-cultural differences across the US and Korea. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 44, 460–468.
8.
CozziP.PutnamS. P.MenesiniE.GartsteinM. A.AureliT.CalussiP.MontirossoR. (2013). Studying cross-cultural differences in temperament in toddlerhood: United States of America (US) and Italy. Infant Behavior and Development, 36(3), 480–483.
9.
CrijnenA. A. M.AchenbachT. M.VerhulstF. C. (1997). Comparisons of problems reported by parents of children in 12 cultures: Total problems, externalizing, and internalizing. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(9), 1269–1277.
10.
Deater-DeckardK.GodwinJ.LansfordJ. E.BacchiniD.BombiA. S.BornsteinM. H.ChangL.Di GiuntaL.DodgeK. A.MaloneP. S.OburuP.PastorelliC.SkinnerA. T.SorbringE.SteinbergL.TapanyaS.AlampayL. P.Uribe TiradoL. M.ZelliA.Al-HassanS. M. (2018). Within- and between-person and group variance in behavior and beliefs in cross-cultural longitudinal data. Journal of Adolescence, 62, 207–217.
11.
DesmaraisE. E.MajdandžićM.GartsteinM. A.BridgettD. J.FrenchB. F. (2017). Cross-cultural differences in temperament: Comparing paternal ratings of US and Dutch infants. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 5629, 1–15.
12.
EisenbergN.SadovskyA.SpinradT. L.FabesR. aLosoyaS. H.ValienteC.ReiserM.CumberlandA.ShepardS. a. (2005). The relations of problem behavior status to children’s negative emotionality, effortful control, and impulsivity: Concurrent relations and prediction of change. Developmental Psychology, 41(1), 193–211.
13.
EndersC. K.TofighiD. (2007). Centering predictor variables in cross-sectional multilevel models: A new look at an old issue. Psychological Methods, 12(2), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.12.2.121
14.
EvansD. E.RothbartM. K. (2007). Developing a model for adult temperament. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(4), 868–888.
15.
FarkasC.VallottonC. (2016). Infant behavior and development full length article differences in infant temperament between Chile and the US. Infant Behavior and Development, 44, 208–218.
16.
FischerR.SchwartzS. H. (2011). Whence differences in value priorities?: Individual, cultural, or artifactual sources. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(7), 1127–1144.
17.
GaiasL. M.RaikkonenK.KomsiN.GartsteinM. A.FisherP. A.PutnamS. P. (2012). Cross-cultural temperamental differences in infants, children, and adults in the United States of America and Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 53(2), 119–128. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2012.00937.x
18.
GartsteinM. A.GonzalezC.CarranzaJ. A.AhadiS. A.YeR. M.RothbartM. K.YangS. W. (2006). Studying cross-cultural differences in the development of infant temperament: People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, and Spain. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 37(2), 145–161.
19.
GartsteinM. A.PutnamS. P.RothbartM. K. (2012). Etiology of preschool behavior problems: Contributions of temperament attributes in early childhood. Infant Mental Health Journal, 33(2), 197–211.
20.
GartsteinM. A.PutnamS. P.SlobodskayaH. R.de WeerthC. (2018). The Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium (JETTC): Origins, aims, and hypotheses. In GartsteinM. A.PutnamS. P. (Eds.), Toddlers, parents, and culture: Findings from the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium. Routledge.
21.
GartsteinM. A.SlobodskayaH. R.ZyliczP. O.GosztylaD.NakagawaA. (2010). A cross-cultural evaluation of temperament: Japan, USA, Poland, and Russia. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 10, 55–75.
22.
HofstedeG.HofstedeG. J.MinkovM. (2010). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. (Revised). McGraw-Hill.
23.
HofstedeG.McCraeR. R. (2004). Personality and culture revisited: Linking traits and dimensions of culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 38, 52–88. http://doi.org/10.1177/1069397103259443
24.
HofstedeG.MinkovM. (2010). Long- versus short-term orientation: New perspectives. Asia Pacific Business Review, 16(4), 493–504.
25.
HoxJ. J.MoerbeekM.van de SchootR. (2018). Multilevel analysis: techniques and applications. Routledge.
26.
KellerH.YovsiR.BorkeJ.KartnerJ.JensenH.PapaligouraZ. (2004). Developmental consequences of early parenting experiences: Self- recognition and self-regulation in three cultural communities. Child Development, 75(6), 1745–1760.
27.
KrassnerA. M.GartsteinMaria A.ParkC.DraganW. Ł.LecannelierF.PutnamS. P. (2017) East–west, collectivist-individualist: A cross-cultural examination of temperament in toddlers from Chile, Poland, South Korea, and the U.S. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14(4), 449–464. http://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2016.1236722
28.
MäntymaaM.PuuraK.LuomaI.LatvaR.SalmelinR. K.TamminenT. (2012). Predicting internalizing and externalizing problems at five years by child and parental factors in infancy and toddlerhood. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 43, 153–170.
29.
MisangyiV. F.LePineJ. A.AlginaJ.GoeddekeF.Jr (2006). The adequacy of repeated-measures regression for multilevel research. Organizational Research Methods, 9(1), 5–28.
30.
MuhtadieL.ZhouQ.EisenbergN.WangY. (2013). Predicting internalizing problems in Chinese children: The unique and interactive effects of parenting and child temperament. Development and Psychopathology, 25(3), 653–667.
31.
Nunnally, & Bernstein, (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
32.
PutnamS. P.GartsteinM. A. (2017). Aggregate temperament scores from multiple countries: Associations with aggregate personality traits, cultural dimensions, and allelic frequency. Journal of Research in Personality, 67, 157–170.
33.
PutnamS. P.GartsteinM. A.RothbartM. K. (2006). Measurement of fine-grained aspects of toddler temperament: The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Infant Behavior and Development, 29(3), 386–401.
34.
PutnamS. P.HelbigA. L.GartsteinM. A.RothbartM. K.LeerkesE. (2014). Development and assessment of short and very short forms of the infant behavior questionnaire–revised. Journal of Personality Assessment, 96(4), 445–458.
35.
RothbartM. K.DerryberryD. (1981). Development of individual differences in temperament. In LambM. E.BrownA. L. (Eds.), Advances in developmental psychology: Volume1 (pp. 37–86). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.
36.
RothbartM. K.DerryberryD.PosnerM. I. (1994). A psychobiological approach to the development of temperament. In BatesJ. E.WachsT. D. (Eds.), Temperament: Individual differences at the interface of biology and behavior (pp. 83–116). Washington, DC: American Psychological Assocation.
37.
RubinK. H.HemphillS. A.ChenX.HastingsP.SansonA.CocoA. L.ZappullaC.ChungO.ParkS.DohH.ChenH.Sun BeijingL.YoonC.CuiL. (2006). A cross-cultural study of behavioral inhibition in toddlers: East-West-North-South. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30(3), 219–226.
38.
ScheperF. Y.MajdandžićM.van de VenP. M.JansenL. M. C.DoreleijersT. A. H.SchuengelC.de VriesA. L. C. (2017). Temperament traits and psychopathology in young clinically referred children compared to a general population sample. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 48(6), 841–850.
39.
ScherrS.MaresM. L.BartschA.GoetzM. (2019). Parents, television, and children’s emotional expressions: A cross-cultural multilevel model. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 50(1), 22–46.
40.
SlobodskayaH. R.GartsteinM. a.NakagawaA.PutnamS. P. (2013). Early temperament in Japan, the United States, and Russia: Do cross-cultural differences decrease with age?Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(3), 438–460.
41.
SlobodskayaH. R.KozlovaE.HanS.-Y.GartsteinM. A.PutnamS. P. (2018). Cross-cultural differences in temperament. In GartsteinM. A.PutnamS. P. (Eds.), Toddlers, parents, and culture: Findings from the Joint Effort Toddler Temperament Consortium. Routledge.
42.
SungJ.BeijersR.GartsteinM. A.de WeerthC.PutnamS. P. (2015). Exploring temperamental differences in infants from the USA and the Netherlands. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12(1), 15–28.
43.
WengL. (2015). Individualism and collectivism. In BennettJ. M. (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of intercultural competence language and identity (pp. 424–429). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
