Difficult temperament in childhood and adulthood: continuity from maternal perceptions to self-ratings over 17 years

We examined continuity and change in temperament over 17 years, from childhood at ages 3–12 to adulthood at ages 20–29, in a population-based sample of 1319 participants of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study. The focus was on individual subscales of temperament assessing Negative Emotionality, Activity, and low Sociability, and on a combination of these, the construct of difficult temperament. Temperament was assessed by the participantsʹ mothers at the baseline, and in adulthood by the participants themselves. The results indicated weak but significant homotypic continuity over 17 years for the temperament subscale assessing Activity (std.coeff.=0.11, P<0.001), and moderate continuity for the difficult temperament construct (std.coeffʹs=0.20–0.31, Pʹs<0.001). The results also revealed a significant association between low Sociability in childhood (manifesting as social maladjustment) and Anger in adulthood, indicating heterotypic continuity. Systematic gender differences did not occur in the associations. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings concerning temperamental continuity are discussed.