Temperament in the Family Context

In this chapter, we examine the extensive FLS longitudinal data related to the participants’ home and family environment, including family relationships. As we have previously reported that temperament in the FLS was not pervasively related to family socioeconomic status (A. W. Gottfried et al., 2003), we focus in this chapter on proximal variables. By proximal variables, we mean those that assess processes or specific aspects of the environment that may influence children’s development. These would include, for example, language stimulation, access to toys, games, and reading materials, opportunities for variety in stimulation, etc. Keeping in mind the bidirectional and transactional traditions within developmental science perspectives, we examined child temperament as a concomitant, as a predictor, as an outcome, and as a moderator of development. Five major issues will be addressed herein: 1 Are children’s temperament characteristics related to proximal variables in their home? Are there consistent or changing patterns of relation between child temperament and proximal home environment across development from infancy through childhood? In the FLS, homes of participants were visited during the infancy, preschool, and elementary years, and it was with these detailed and extensive data collected via the well-known HOME scales, based on both direct observation and interview methodology, that we first examined temperament-environment relations. 2 To what extent are specific dimensions of child temperament related to concurrent and cross-time assessments of the quality of family climate? Are the strengths and patterns of relation between child temperament and family climate constant across development? Assessments of the family environment were regularly collected using the Family Environment Scale. These data provide another measure of proximal environment variables that may influence children’s development, and the relation of child temperament to these variables across the childhood and adolescent years is assessed herein. 3 How do individual differences in children’s temperament relate to parents’ and children’s assessments of their relationship with each other? Parent-child relationships, which also may be considered proximal environmental variables, are considered as a separate category. During the middle childhood and/or adolescent period, study participants and parents rated the quality of their relationship with each other, and these assessments are examined in relation to parent and adolescent assessments of the adolescents’ temperament. 4 How might variations in children’s contexts influence the expression of their temperament? Which aspects of the proximal environment, if any, are predictive of children’s subsequent temperament? In this section, we examine the relation between earlier measures of home environment and subsequent measures of child/adolescent temperament. 5 How do temperament and environment interact in influencing children’s developmental outcomes? In some cases, rather than direct main effects, individual differences in children’s temperament may modify the impact of the environment on their development. In the final section, we present evidence of such temperament-environment interactions based on the FLS data. Specifically, we examine interactions between infant temperament and family conflict as predictors of behavior problems.