Preschoolers' observed temperament and psychiatric disorders assessed with a parent diagnostic interview

J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2011;40(2):295-306. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2011.546046.

Abstract

Evidence supports the role of temperament in the origins of psychiatric disorders. However, there are few data on associations between temperament and psychiatric disorders in early childhood. A community sample of 541 three-year-old preschoolers participated in a laboratory temperament assessment, and caregivers were administered a structured diagnostic interview on preschool psychopathology. In bivariate analyses, temperamental dysphoria and low exuberance were associated with depression; fear, low exuberance, and low sociability were associated with anxiety disorders; and disinhibition and dysphoria were associated with oppositional defiant disorder. Although there were no bivariate associations between temperament and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, disinhibition emerged as a unique predictor in multivariate analyses. Findings indicate that the pattern of relations between temperament and psychopathology in older youth and adults is evident as early as age 3.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Mental Disorders / psychology*
  • Parents*
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Risk
  • Temperament*