Infant Reactivity as a Predictor of Child Anxiety, Social Ease, and Parenting Behavior in Middle Childhood

The current study examined whether and how children whose reactivity profiles were classified in infancy differed systematically in their peer relationships, social ease, and anxiety in middle childhood. Children who were low reactive infants were less likely to report being shy in middle childhood and were also considered less shy by observers. Mothers’ disciplinary responses to their children were also examined; mothers of low reactives were more likely to employ reasoning as a response to verbal conflict than other mothers. The study employed a multi-informant assessment approach, utilizing reports from the children themselves, their mothers, their teachers, and independent observers and examined the extent to which these reports concurred. Though reactivity in infancy had different behavioral implications for both children and their parents in middle childhood, these differences were moderate.