Adolescent temperament and lifetime psychiatric and substance abuse disorders assessed in young adulthood

This study focused on three research questions related to temperament for the transitional period from adolescence to young adulthood: (1) the rank-order stability of temperament dimensions across six years; (2) continuity of mean levels of temperament; and (3) relationships between adolescent temperament dimensions and lifetime psychiatric and substance abuse disorders in young adulthood. The participants (N = 760) were selected from a longitudinal community cohort study of the adolescent to young adulthood transition. Moderate stability was indicated for temperament dimensions from adolescence to young adulthood. Continuity of temperament from adolescence to young adulthood was also supported for some dimensions, though change was indicated for others toward lower activity levels and higher task orientation. Findings supported significant associations between temperament dimensions and lifetime psychiatric and substance abuse disorders.