Critical Thinking Activity: Early Temperament Style and Later
Adjustment Problems
Now that you have read and reviewed Chapter 7, take your learning a step
further
by testing your critical thinking skills on this scientific reasoning exercise.
A study by Caspi and others (1995)* revealed that temperamental style in
early childhood might be linked to adjustment problems during adolescence.
The study involved a cohort of 1,037 children born between April 1, 1972,
and March 31,
1973, in Dunedin, New Zealand.
At ages 3, 5, 7, and 9, the behavior of each child was rated in terms of 22
aspects of temperament, including emotional stability, restlessness, selfreliance, persistence, negativism, passivity, shyness, self-confidence,
emotional flatness, and 13 other dimensions. To assess behavior problems in
the sample, the researchers relied on outcome data from teachers and
parents who rated the children at ages 9, 11, 13, and 15 on two widely used
behavior problem checklists.
These checklists included subscales measuring anxiety/withdrawal, which
represents feelings of inferiority and failure; attention problems, which reflect
difficulty in concentration skills; conduct disorder, which reflects
aggressiveness and alienation; and socialized delinquency, which reflects
norm-violating tendencies.
For both boys and girls, lack of control at ages 3 and 5 showed a significant
positive correlation with teacher and parent reports of antisocial behavior
and conduct disorder at ages 9 and 11. In addition, boys and girls
characterized as lacking in control in early childhood were less likely to be
rated in adolescence as mature and confident.
The authors suggest several possible explanations for these intriguing
results.
One is that certain temperamental characteristics in young children are
actually early, “subclinical” manifestations of more extreme behavior
disorders. Whatever the correct explanation, the results of this extensive
study suggest that early temperament may have remarkably specific
predictive validity for the development of behavior problems during
adolescence.
1. What type of research design is used in this study (e.g., cross-sectional,
longitudinal,
experimental, correlational, or naturalistic observation)? Is this
design appropriate?
2. What explanation do the researchers offer for their findings? Does this
explanation make sense based on the evidence?
3. Given the results of this study, why can’t the researchers draw a causal
connection
between behavior disorders and temperament?
4. Can you think of an alternative explanation for the results of this study?

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