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Reactive and Regulatory Temperament: Longitudinal Associations with Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms through Childhood

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Abstract

Previous studies of the relationship between temperament and psychopathology have been limited by focusing on main effects of temperament on psychopathology, reliance solely on maternal reports of child temperament, and predominately using cross-sectional designs. This study extended this work by focusing on interactions between reactive (positive emotionality/PE; negative emotionality/NE) and regulatory (effortful control) dimensions of temperament, using laboratory observations of temperament, and focusing on longitudinal prediction of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. 536 children (46.1% Female, 92.4% White) were followed in a prospective, longitudinal study of the relationship between temperament and psychopathology. Temperament was assessed using laboratory observations when children were at age 3. Mothers and fathers reported on internalizing and externalizing symptoms in their children at ages 3, 6, and 9. Multilevel modeling analyses examined associations between the interaction of temperament traits and patterns of change in internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Interactions between reactive PE traits (Sociability, Exuberance), but not NE traits (Dysphoria, Fear), and regulatory temperament (Disinhibition) were associated with the slope of maternal-reported internalizing and paternal-reported externalizing symptoms such that youth low in PE traits and high in effortful control experienced a greater decline in symptoms over time. In conclusion, among children with lower levels of PE traits, strong regulatory abilities are associated with greater reductions in internalizing and externalizing symptoms over time. These models highlight the complex interaction between reactive and regulatory temperament and expand current understanding of temperamental risk for psychopathology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 N 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA

    Johanna D. Nielsen & Thomas M. Olino

  2. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Margaret W. Dyson

  3. Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Daniel N. Klein

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  1. Johanna D. Nielsen
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  2. Thomas M. Olino
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  3. Margaret W. Dyson
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  4. Daniel N. Klein
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Correspondence to Johanna D. Nielsen.

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Funding

This work was supported by NIMH grants R01 MH069942 (Klein) and R01 MH107495 (Olino).

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JDN, TMO, MWD, and DNK declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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The study was approved by the IRB at Stony Brook University and has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was received from parents at each wave of data collection.

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Nielsen, J.D., Olino, T.M., Dyson, M.W. et al. Reactive and Regulatory Temperament: Longitudinal Associations with Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms through Childhood. J Abnorm Child Psychol 47, 1771–1784 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00555-0

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