Editorial Perspective: Whatever happened to temperament?

A recent editorial in this journal supported our need to be 'mindful of the field's strict adherence to the disease model of psychopathology, and wondered (not for the first time) whether our total allegiance to this model has obscured important information.' Dr. Burt pointed to studies in which normal behavioral style traits such as activity and resilience may have been significant factors in the outcome. These traits bear a close relationship to two of the nine normal temperament traits described by Chess and Thomas in their New York Longitudinal Study starting in 1956. Despite past acceptance, their important contribution to outcomes has been largely ignored for some time. However, lately there has been an unexpected revival of them. All nine of the NYLS traits have individually been shown to matter sometimes in mental health outcomes. It is not just activity and resilience or adaptability but all the rest: irregularity, inhibition, intensity, irritability, persistence, distractibility, and sensitivity. Should we not consider all normal temperamental predispositions as possible risk or protective factors in appraisals of behavioral outcomes and not just pathological nature and/or nurture contributions?

Reformatting the 9-month health supervision visit to enhance developmental, behavioral and family concerns.

CASE: Dr. McClintock reviewed her schedule for the following week when she observed there were eight health supervision visits in 9 month old children. She recalled that these healthy children, whom she followed since birth, were up-to-date on their immunizations. As she reflected on the visits, it occurred to Dr. McClintock that this might be an ideal opportunity to use the time to assess developmental status and behavioral interactions. She could also ask questions about the families, including childcare arrangements, satisfaction with parenting and marriage relationships. Dr. McClintock considered the best use of the time available in order to have the most meaning to the children and their families. What lines of questioning or what screening tests might be most useful during the 9-month office visit?

Insights about children for parents from eminent writers: from Dante and Castiglione to Mark Twain and Bertrand Russell.

Behavioral science and literature have had a long and complex relationship with each other, sometimes differing and sometimes similar in ways of portraying human development. In the ancient world nature seems to have been the dominant explanation of human variations in both science and literature. That speculative philosophical view persisted into the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance among the academicians, while the best literature moved ahead by introducing the modern view of an interaction between nature and nurture. In the modern era literature began to describe the inner world of children a century before the birth of child psychology, and literature has generally continued to describe the interactions between nature and nurture without taking sides in the academic battles of science. The great wealth of insights into the origins of children's behavior in the nonscientific literature should be incorporated into the education of child health professionals because the richer understanding that it engenders would lead to better child rearing and educational practice.

Stability of ratings vs. perceptions of temperament from early infancy to 1-3 years.

A new caretaker questionnaire for assessment of NYLS temperament characteristics in one-to-three-year-olds, part of a series of such instruments, is described. A study of stability of individual differences from early infancy to one-to-three years found significant correlations on all dimensions. Maternal general impressions, however, changed in several ways in the intervening time.