Temperament and Relationships

Abstract

Temperamental characteristics of preschool children were related to relationships, mothers' mood, and children's feelings towards family members. Active scores were correlated with some problem behaviour and with negative aspects of interactions with mother and father. Active children felt themselves to be independent, while Timid children did not. Timid children had relatively more acute illnesses and worries and fears. Difficult scores were correlated with problem behaviour and with negative aspects of all the types of interaction assessed: mother-child, mother-father, father-child, and sibling-child. Furthermore, the more Difficult the child, the more Anxious, Outwardly Irritable, and Inwardly irritable the mother. In turn, Difficult children expressed relatively few positive and dependency feelings towards their mothers, and more negative feelings towards themselves.