Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T05:49:16.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Multimethod Assessment of Temperament in Twins: Birth to Six Months

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

M.L. Riese ,
R.S. Wilson  and
A.P. Matheny Jr.
M.L. Riese*
Affiliation:
University of Louisville School of Medicine, Kentucky
R.S. Wilson
Affiliation:
University of Louisville School of Medicine, Kentucky
A.P. Matheny Jr.
Affiliation:
University of Louisville School of Medicine, Kentucky
*
Child Development Unit, Health Sciences Center, University of Louisville, KY 40292, USA

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The predictive relationship between neonatal behavior and temperament at 6 months was assessed in 62 pairs of twins. The neonatal assessment evaluated irritability, resistance to soothing, reactivity, and activity level across various activities. Temperament at 6 months was appraised by a laboratory assessment, ratings on the Infant Behavior Record, and a questionnaire completed by the mother. Examination for temperament consistency from the neonatal period to 6 months indicated that (a) neonates rated by an examiner as irritable and difficult to soothe were reported by the mother to be more negative, irritable, and slower to adapt at 6 months; (b) neonates rated as more irritable and active were more attentive and responsive during mental testing at 6 months; (c) there was no relationship between the neonatal measures and the laboratory ratings, possibly reflecting methodological problems influenced by maturation and vegetative processes at 6 months. Analyses for patterns of concordance within the various data sets for MZ and DZ twins indicated that there was no pattern of differential concordance favoring MZ twins for the temperament measures at birth or at 6 months. It was concluded that a modest predictive relationship between temperament variables had been demonstrated from birth to 6 months, but no specific genetic effects were detected at these early ages.

Keywords

TemperamentNeonatal BehaviorTwin concordanceInfant twin assessment
Type
Review Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 34 , Issue 1-2 , April 1985 , pp. 15 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1985

References

REFERENCES

1. Bayley, N (1969): Bayley Scales of Infant Development. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
2. Birns, B (1965): Individual differences in human neonates' responses to stimulation. Child Dev 36: 249–256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3. Carey, WB, McDevitt, SC (1978): Revision of the Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Pediatrics 61: 735–739.Google Scholar
4. Cooley, WW, Lohnes, PR (1971): Multivariate Data Analysis. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
5. Goldsmith, HH, Campos, JJ (1982): Toward a theory of infant temperament. In Emde, RN, Harmon, RJ (eds.), The Development of Attachment and Affiliative Systems. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
6. Humbert, NC, Wachs, TD, Peters-Martin, P, Gandour, MJ (1982): The study of early temperament: Measurement and conceptual issues. Child Dev 53 571–600.Google Scholar
7. Kurtzberg, D, Vaughan, HG, Daum, C, Grellong, BA, Albin, S, Rotkin, L (1979): Neurobehavioral performance of low-birthweight infants at 40 weeks conceptional age: Comparison with normal full term infants. Dev Med Child Neurol 21: 590–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Matheny, AP Jr (1980): Bayley's Infant Behavior Record: Behavioral components and twin analyses. Child Dev 51: 1157–1167.Google Scholar
9. Matheny, AP, Wilson, RS (1981): Developmental tasks and rating scales for the laboratory assessment of infant temperament. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology 11: 8182 (Ms. No. 2367).Google Scholar
10. Matheny, AP Jr, Wilson, RS, Nuss, SM (1984): Toddler temperament: Stability across settings and over ages. Child Dev 55:1200–1211.Google Scholar
11. Reiss, AJ (1961): Occupations and Social Status. New York: Free Press of Glencoe.Google Scholar
12. Riese, ML (1982): Procedures and norms for assessing behavioral patterns in full-term and stable pre-term neonates. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 12: 6 (Ms. No. 2415).Google Scholar
13. Riese, ML (1983): Assessment of behavioral patterns in neonates. Infant Behav Dev 6: 241–246.Google Scholar
14. Riese, ML (1983): Behavioral patterns in full-term and preterm twins. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 32: 209–220.Google ScholarPubMed
15. Riese, ML, Matheny, AP (1982): Behaviors of the neonate and cognitive performance of the infant. Infant Behav Dev 5: 193 (Abstract).Google Scholar
16. Thomas, A, Chess, S (1977): Temperament and Development. New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
17. Thomas, A, Chess, S, Birch, HG, Hertzig, ME, Korn, S (1963): Behavioral Individuality in Early Childhood. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
18. Wilson, RS (1978): Synchronies in mental development: An epigenetic perspective. Science, 202: 939–948.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19. Wilson, RS (1979): Twin growth: Initial deficit, recovery, and trends in concordance from birth to nine years. Ann Hum Biol 6: 205–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20. Wilson, RS (1980): Bloodtyping and twin zygosity: Reassessment and extension. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 29, 103–120.Google Scholar
21. Wilson, RS (1982): Intrinsic determinants of temperament. In Porter, R, Collins, GM (eds): Temperamental Differences in Infants and Young Children. Ciba Foundation Symposium 89: Pitman (London).Google Scholar
22. Wilson, RS (1983): The Louisville Twin Study: Developmental synchronies in behavior. Child Dev 54: 298–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23. Wilson, RS, Matheny, AP Jr (1983): Assessment of temperament in infant twins. Dev Psychol 19: 172–183.Google Scholar
24. Wilson, RS, Matheny, AP Jr (1984): Behavior genetics research in infant temperament. Paper presented at Fifth Occasional Temperament Conference: Keystone, Colorado.Google Scholar