Provided by David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon General of the United States of America
Chapter 3: Children and Mental Health
Temperament
During the past two decades, as psychologists began to view
the child less as a passive recipient of environmental input but rather as an
active player in the process, the importance of temperament has become better
appreciated (Plomin, 1986). Temperament is defined as the repertoire of traits
with which each child is born; this repertoire determines how people react to
the world around them. Such variations in characteristics were first described
systematically by Anna Freud from her observations of children orphaned by the
ravages of World War II. She noticed that some children were affectionate, some
wanted to be close but were too shy to approach adults, and some were difficult
because they were easily angered and frustrated (A. Freud, 1965).
The first major longitudinal observations on temperament were begun in the 1950s
by Thomas and Chess (1977). They distinguished 10 aspects of temperament, but
there appear to be many different ways to describe temperamental differences
(Goldsmith et al., 1987). Although there is some continuity in temperamental
qualities throughout the life span (Chess & Thomas, 1984; Mitchell, 1993),
temperament is often modified during development, particularly by the
interaction with the caregiver. For example, a timid child can become bolder
with the help of parental encouragement (Kagan, 1984, 1989). Some traits of
temperament, such as attention span, goal orientation, lack of distractibility,
and curiosity, can affect cognitive functioning because the more pronounced
these traits are, the better a child will learn (Campos et al., 1983). Of note,
it is not always clear whether extremes of temperament should be considered
within the spectrum of mental disorder (for example, shyness or anxiety) or
whether certain forms of temperament might predispose a child to the development
of certain mental disorders.
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