Abstract
Temperament was examined as a moderator of maternal parenting behaviors, including warmth, negativity, autonomy granting, and guidance. Observations of parenting and questionnaire measures of temperament and adjustment were obtained from a community sample (N = 214; ages 8–12). Trajectories of depression and anxiety were assessed across 3 years. The pattern of parenting as a predictor of internalizing symptoms depended on temperament. Maternal negativity predicted increases in depression for children low in fear. Effortful control moderated sensitivity to maternal negativity, autonomy granting, and guidance. Children low in effortful control reported more symptoms in the presence of negative or poor-fitting parenting. The results support differential responding, but also suggest that temperament may render children vulnerable for the development of problems regardless of parenting.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Heterogeneity of age differences through modeling age versus time in study was explored by specifying parallel models using an age-cohort design (see Mehta and West 2000). No differences emerged in the magnitude or pattern of significance of associations.
A model examining all covariates and parenting variables simultaneously was run to determine whether non-significant covariates affected any relations. The results did not differ and the reduced model was retained to preserve power (Muthén and Curran 1997).
References
Albano, A. M., Chorpita, B. F., & Barlow, D. H. (2003). Childhood anxiety disorders. In E. J. Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Child psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 279–329). New York: Guilford.
Arbuckle, J. T. (1996). Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling: Issues and techniques (pp. 243–277). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Barber, B. K. (1996). Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct. Child Development, 67, 3296–3319.
Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009). Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 885–908.
Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary-developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 271–301.
Brandy, E. U., & Kendall, P. C. (1992). Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 244–255.
Buss, A. H., & Plomin, R. (1984). Temperament: Early developing personality traits. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Capaldi, D. M., & Rothbart, M. K. (1992). Development and validation of an early adolescent temperament measure. Journal of Early Adolescence, 12, 153–173.
Colder, C. R., Lochman, J. E., & Wells, K. C. (1997). The moderating effects of children’s fear and activity level on relations between parenting practices and childhood symptomatology. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 25, 251–263.
Collins, L. M., Schafer, J. L., & Kam, C. M. (2001). A comparison of inclusive and restrictive strategies in modern missing data procedures. Psychological Methods, 6, 330–351.
Cowan, C., & Cowan, P. (1992). Parenting style ratings manual. Unpublished Manuscript. Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley
Curran, P. J., Bauer, D. J., & Willoughby, M. T. (2004). Testing main effects and interaction in latent curve analysis. Psychological Methods, 9, 220–237.
De Bolle, M., & De Fruyt, F. (2010). The tripartite model in childhood and adolescence: Future directions for developmental research. Child Development Perspectives, 4, 174–180.
Dennis, T. (2006). Self-regulation in preschoolers: The interplay of child approach reactivity, parenting, and control capabilities. Developmental Psychology, 42, 84–97.
Derryberry, D., & Rothbart, M. K. (1997). Reactive and effortful processes in the organization of temperament. Development and Psychopathology, 9, 633–652.
Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., Goldsmith, H. H., & Van Hulle, C. A. (2006). Gender differences in temperament: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 33–72.
Gilliom, M., & Shaw, D. S. (2004). Codevelopment of externalizing and internalizing problems in early childhood. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 313–333.
Goldsmith, H. H., & Rothbart, M. K. (1991). Contemporary instruments for assessing early temperament by questionnaire an in the laboratory. In J. Strelau & A. Angleitner (Eds.), Explorations in temperament (pp. 249–272). New York: Plenum.
Gullone, E., King, N. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (2001). Self-reported anxiety in children and adolescents: A three-year follow-up study. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 162, 5–19.
Hankin, B. L., Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., McGee, R., & Angell, K. E. (1998). Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: Emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 128–140.
Ialongo, N. S., Edelsohn, G., & Kellam, S. G. (2001). A further look at the prognostic power of young children’s reports of depressed moods and feelings. Child Development, 72, 736–747.
Ingram, R. E., & Luxton, D. D. (2005). Vulnerability-stress models. In B. L. Hankin & J. R. Z. Abela (Eds.), Development of psychopathology: A vulnerability-stress perspective (pp. 32–46). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Kovacs, M. (1981). Rating scales to assess depression in school aged children. Acta Paedopsychiatry, 46, 305–315.
Lengua, L. J. (2006). Growth in temperament and parenting as predictors of adjustment during children’s transition to adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 42, 819–832.
Lengua, L. J., & Long, A. C. (2002). The role of emotionality and self-regulation in the appraisal-coping process: Tests of direct and moderating effects. Applied Developmental Psychology, 23, 471–493.
Lengua, L. J., Wolchik, S. A., Sandler, I. N., & West, S. G. (2000). The additive and interactive effects of parenting and temperament in predicting adjustment problems of children of divorce. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 232–244.
Lerner, J. V., & Lerner, R. M. (1994). Explorations of the goodness-of-fit model in early adolescence. In W. B. Carey & S. C. McDevitt (Eds.), Prevention and early intervention (pp. 161–169). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
Lindahl, M. K., & Malik, N. (2000). Systems for coding interactions and family functioning. Unpublished manuscript. Coral Gables, Florida: University of Miami
McLeod, B. D., Wood, J. J., & Weisz, J. R. (2007). Examining the association between parenting and childhood anxiety: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 155–172.
Mehta, P. D., & West, S. G. (2000). Putting the individual back into individual growth curves. Psychological Methods, 5, 23–43.
Miller, K. S., Vannatta, K., Compas, B. E., Vasey, M., McGoron, K. D., Salley, C. G., et al. (2009). The role of coping and temperament in the adjustment of children with cancer. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 34, 1135–1143.
Morris, A. S., Silk, J. S., Steinberg, L., Sessa, F. M., Avenevoli, S., & Essex, M. J. (2002). Temperamental vulnerability and negative parenting as interacting predictors of child adjustment. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 461–471.
Muris, P. (2006). The pathogenesis of childhood anxiety disorders: Considerations from a developmental psychopathology perspective. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 5–11.
Muris, P., Schmidt, H., Lambrichs, R., & Meesters, C. (2001). Protective and vulnerability factors of depression in normal adolescents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 555–565.
Muris, P., van der Pennen, E., Sigmond, R., & Mayer, B. (2008). Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and aggression in non-clinical children: Relationships with self-report and performance-based measures of attention and effortful control. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 39, 455–467.
Muthén, B. O., & Curran, P. J. (1997). General longitudinal modeling of individual differences in experimental designs: A latent variable framework for analysis and power estimation. Psychological Methods, 2, 371–402.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2006). Mplus user’s guide (4th Ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén
Nigg, J. T. (2006). Temperament and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 395–422.
Noordhof, A., Oldehinkel, A. J., Verhulst, F. C., & Ormel, J. (2008). Optimal use of multi- informant data on co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing problems. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 17, 174–183.
Oldehinkel, A. J., Veenstra, R., Ormel, J., de Winter, A. F., & Verhulst, F. C. (2006). Temperament, parenting, and depressive symptoms in a population sample of preadolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 684–695.
Preacher, K. J., Curran, P. J., & Bauer, D. J. (2006). Computational tools for probing interactions in multiple linear regression, multilevel modeling, and latent curve analysis. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 31, 437–448.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.
Rapee, R. M. (1997). Potential role of childrearing practices in the development of anxiety and depression. Child Psychology Review, 17, 47–67.
Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. O. (1978). What I think and feel: A revised measure of children’s manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 271–280.
Rothbart, M. K., & Bates, J. E. (2006). Temperament. In N. Eisenberg, W. Damon, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3, social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 99–166). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., Hershey, K. L., & Fisher, P. (2001). Investigations of temperament at three to seven years: The children’s behavior questionnaire. Child Development, 72, 1394–1408.
Silk, J. S., Morris, A. S., Kanaya, T., & Steinberg, L. (2003). Psychological control and autonomy granting: Opposite ends of a continuum or distinct constructs? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 113–128.
Wachs, T. D. (1991). Synthesis: Promising research designs, measures, and strategies. In T. D. Wachs & R. Plomin (Eds.), Conceptualization and measurement of organism-environment interaction (pp. 162–182). Washington: American Psychological Association.
Acknowledgements
Support for this research was provided by NIMH Grant #R29MH57703 awarded to Liliana Lengua and NIMH Grant #F31MH086171 awarded to Cara Kiff. The authors thank Kevin King and Robert McMahon for their valuable feedback on this manuscript and the families who participated in this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kiff, C.J., Lengua, L.J. & Bush, N.R. Temperament Variation in Sensitivity to Parenting: Predicting Changes in Depression and Anxiety. J Abnorm Child Psychol 39, 1199–1212 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9539-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9539-x