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How often have you heard a child described as “easy” or “difficult” or “shy until you get to know her”? These casual labels all refer to characteristics of child temperament, those traits that influence how your child reacts in various situations. Researchers have described nine child temperament traits which individually, or in combination, affect how well your child fits in at school, with peers, and even at home. Temperament influences how teachers, peers, and family relate to her, as well as how she relates to them. Your child’s temperament directly affects how she approaches her school work and chores at home. When a child’s natural behavior doesn’t fit with what is expected, social, family, or academic problems may arise. For a child with an identified learning disability (LD) or behavior issues, her particular temperament may help her achieve success more easily or it may compound her difficulties. Behaviors for each temperament trait described below fall along a continuum. Responses toward either the high or low end — while still completely normal — may be cause for concern. 9 child temperament traits*
*Based on Temperament and Development, by A. Thomas and S. Chess, published in 1977 by Brunner/Mazel, New York.) How temperament affects your childExtremes on each continuum of traits are not likely to guarantee success or failure in all situations; somewhere in the middle gives your child flexibility to adjust to a variety of conditions and expectations at school, at home, and in the community. Consider that some combinations of traits can be more troublesome or more beneficial in school than others. High persistence can help the distractible student stay on task, whereas high distractibility combined with high activity and low persistence are strongly correlated to academic problems and bear a striking resemblance to the characteristics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Understanding the behavior traits of your child with LD or ADHD helps you predict how she is likely to react in various situations. Are those traits liable to enhance her performance or cause additional problems for her? For example, auditory processing difficulties may be aggravated by low sensitivity; memory problems may be intensified by high distractibility. High persistence and low distractibility, on the other hand, tend to benefit most kids — with or without LD or ADHD. Learn about your child’s temperamentNow, are you ready to apply these concepts to your own child? If so, print our Temperament Scale and rate your child. When you have completed the scale, check out Management strategies for problematic traits of temperament. Here you’ll find some tips on how to help your child if he exhibits traits that may cause difficulty for her.
Temperament includes behavioral traits such as sociability (outgoing or shy), emotionality (easy-going or quick to react), activity level (high or low energy), attention level (focused or easily distracted), and persistence (determined or easily discouraged). These examples represent a spectrum of common characteristics, each of which may be advantageous in certain circumstances. Temperament remains fairly consistent, particularly throughout adulthood. Similar temperaments within a family may be attributable to shared genetics and to the environment in which an individual is raised. Studies of identical twins (who share 100 percent of their DNA) and their non-twin siblings (who share about 50 percent of their DNA) show that genetics play a large role. Identical twins typically have very similar temperaments when compared with their other siblings. Even identical twins who were raised apart from one another in separate households share such traits. Scientists estimate that 20 to 60 percent of temperament is determined by genetics. Temperament, however, does not have a clear pattern of inheritance and there are not specific genes that confer specific temperamental traits. Instead, many (perhaps thousands) of common gene variations (polymorphisms) combine to influence individual characteristics of temperament. Other DNA modifications that do not alter DNA sequences (epigenetic changes) also likely contribute to temperament. Large studies have identified several genes that play a role in temperament. Many of these genes are involved in communication between cells in the brain. Certain gene variations may contribute to particular traits related to temperament. For example, variants in the DRD2 and DRD4 genes have been linked to a desire to seek out new experiences, and KATNAL2 gene variants are associated with self-discipline and carefulness. Variants affecting the PCDH15 and WSCD2 genes are associated with sociability, while some MAOA gene variants may be linked to introversion, particularly in certain environments. Variants in several genes, such as SLC6A4, AGBL2, BAIAP2, CELF4, L3MBTL2, LINGO2, XKR6, ZC3H7B, OLFM4, MEF2C, and TMEM161B contribute to anxiousness or depression. Environmental factors also play a role in temperament by influencing gene activity. In children raised in an adverse environment (such as one of child abuse and violence), genes that increase the risk of impulsive temperamental characteristics may be turned on (activated). However, a child who grows up in a positive environment (for example a safe and loving home) may have a calmer temperament, in part because a different set of genes is activated Scientific journal articles for further readingBratko D, Butković A, Vukasović T. Heritability of personality. Psychological Topics, 26 (2017), 1, 1-24. Manuck SB, McCaffery JM. Gene-environment interaction. Annu Rev Psychol. 2014;65:41-70. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115100. PubMed: 24405358 Power RA, Pluess M. Heritability estimates of the big five personality traits based on common genetic variants. Translational Psychiatry (2015) 5, e604; doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96; published online 14 July 2015. PubMed: 26171985 PubMed Central: PMC5068715 |