Comparing maternal and observer ratings of child temperament in the prediction of concurrent functioning and later school adjustment

The goal of this research was to compare a new observational temperament measure with an existing temperament questionnaire in the prediction of concurrent child and parent functioning and later school adjustment. In Study 1, mothers of infants and preschoolers, who were drawn from an at-risk sample, were asked to complete the EAS Temperament Survey along with various indices of child behaviour during the course of two home visits. They were also asked to participate in videotaped mother-child interactions, which were subsequently coded for child temperament using an observational rating system. Correspondence between the measures was evaluated along with the incremental validity of the observational technique. In Study 2, longitudinal data were used to assess the predictive validity of the maternal and observer ratings in relation to children's early school adjustment. A secondary purpose of this study was to determine the longitudinal stability of temperament ratings. The findings suggested modest congruence between observational and maternally rated temperament. Interestingly, the observational and maternal ratings showed a differential predictive pattern. Specifically, maternal ratings predicted internalizing and externalizing behaviours, whereas the observational ratings predicted cognitive functioning and adaptive behaviour during the cognitive assessment. Importantly, observational ratings showed unique incremental value in the prediction of parenting stress. In the longitudinal study, however, maternal ratings provided a more reliable prediction of later school adjustment relative to the observational system. Temperament was found to be moderately stable over time. The findings suggest that observational ratings of temperament offer distinct and useful information in comparison with maternal ratings, although this interpretation is somewhat limited to contemporaneous measurement. This investigation also provides validation for the role of maternal ratings in predicting children's concurrent and longitudinal functioning. Taken together, this research highlights the importance of adopting a multi-method approach to the study of child temperament