Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Studying Cross-cultural Differences in the Development of Infant Temperament: People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, and Spain

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Child Psychiatry and Human Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Investigated early development of temperament across three cultures: People’s Republic of China (PRC), United States of America (US), and Spain, utilizing a longitudinal design (assessments at 3, 6, and 9 months of age). Selection of these countries presented an opportunity to conduct Eastern–Western/Individualistic–Collectivistic comparisons. The greatest number of significant differences (i.e., involving more temperament dimensions) was anticipated for the US (Western/Individualistic) and PRC (Eastern/Collectivistic) comparisons. The US sample included 66, the PRC group 69, and the Spanish sample, 60 mothers, all of whom completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) 3 times, when their infants were 3, 6, and 9 months of age. Results related to mean group differences were generally consistent with our hypotheses, demonstrating a greater number of significant differences for US versus PRC, with fewer differences observed for US and Spain. Analyses addressing developmental changes in temperament indicated patterns consistent with a priori expectations and cross-cultural differences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Rothbart MK, Derryberry D (1981) Development of individual differences in temperament. In: Lamb ME, Brown AL (eds) Advances in developmental psychology, vol. 1. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 37–86

    Google Scholar 

  2. Rothbart MK, Bates JE (1998) Temperament. In: Handbook of child psychology: social, emotional, and personality development, vol. 3(5). Series ed. Damon W, Vol. ed. Eisenberg N. Wiley, New York. pp 105–176

  3. Kohnstamm GA (1989) Temperament in childhood: cross-cultural and sex differences. In: Kohnstamm G, Bates JE, Rothbart MK (eds) Temperament in childhood. Wiley, New York, pp 483–508

    Google Scholar 

  4. Bornstein MH, Tal J, Tamis-LeMonda C (1991) Parenting in cross-cultural perspective: The United States, France, and Japan. In: Bornstein MH (ed) Cultural approaches to parenting. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp 69–90

    Google Scholar 

  5. Caudill W, Frost L (1972) A comparison of maternal care and infant behavior in Japanese-American, American, and Japanese families. In: Bronfenbrenner U (ed) Influences on human development. Dryden Press, Hinsdale, IL

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bornstein MH, Haynes OM, Pascual L, Painter KM, Galperin C (1999) Play in two societies: pervasiveness of process, specificity of structure. Child Dev 70:317–331

    Google Scholar 

  7. Keller H, Yovsi R, Borke J, Kartner JH, Jensen H, Papaligoura Z Developmental consequences of early parenting experiences: self-recognition and self-regulation in three cultural communities. Child Dev 75:1745–1760

  8. Triandis HC (1995) Individualism and collectivism. Westview, Boulder, CO

    Google Scholar 

  9. Triandis HC (2001) Individualism–collectivism and personality. J Pers 69:907–924

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Leung K (1987) Some determinanats of reaction to procedural models for conflict resolution: a cross-national study. J Pers Soc Psychol 53:898–908

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Greenfield PM, Suzuki LK (2000) Culture and human development: implication for parenting, education, pediatrics, and mental health. In: Damon W, Sigel IE, Renninger KA (eds) Handbook of child psychology. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 1059–1109

    Google Scholar 

  12. Hofstede G (1980) Cultures of consequences: international differences in work-related values. Sage, Beverly Hills, CA

    Google Scholar 

  13. Leung K, Au Y, Fernández-Dols JM, Iwawaki S (1992) Preference for methods of conflict processing in two collectivist cultures. Int J Psychol 27:195–209

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hsu C, Soong W, Stigler JW, Hong C, Liang C (1981) The temperamental characteristics of Chinese babies. Child Dev 53:1337–1340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Windle W, Iwawaki S, Lerner RM (1988) Cross-cultural comparability of temperament among Japanese and American preschool children. Int J Psychol 23:547–567

    Google Scholar 

  16. Windle W, Iwawaki S, Lerner RM (1987) Cross-cultural comparability of temperament among Japanese and American early- and late- adolescents. J Adolesc Res 2:423–446

    Google Scholar 

  17. Arbiter E, Sato-Tanaka R, Bowlby IK, Letich I (1999) Differences in behaviour and temperament between Japanese and British toddlers living in London: a pilot study. Child Psychol Psychiatr Rev 4:117–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Pomerleau A, Sabatier C, Malcuit G (1998) Quebecois, Haitian, and Vietnamese mothers’ report of infant temperament. Int J Psychol 33:337–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Chen X, Hastings PD, Rubin KH, Chen H, Cen G, Stewart SL (1998) Child-rearing attitudes and behavioral inhibition in Chinese and Canadian toddlers: a cross-cultural study. Dev Psychol 34:677–686

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Fox NA (1994) Dynamic cerebral processes underlying emotion regulation. In The development of emotion regulation: Behavioral and biological considerations. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev, vol. 59. ed. Fox NA pp 152–166, 250–283

  21. Kagan J, Reznick JS, Snidman N (1987) The physiology and psychology of behavioral inhibition in children. Child Dev 58:1459–1473

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Boivin M, Hymel S, Bukowski WM (1995) The roles of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and victimization by peers in predicting loneliness and depressed mood in childhood. Dev Psychopathol 7:765–785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Rubin KH, Chen X, Hymel S (1993) Socio-emotional characteristics of aggressive and withdrawn children. Merril-Palmer Q 49:518–534

    Google Scholar 

  24. Rubin KH (1998) Social and emotional development from a cultural perspective. Dev Psychol 34:611–615

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Ho DYF (1986) Chinese patterns of socialization: a critical review. In: Bond MH (ed) The psychology of Chinese people. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 1–37

    Google Scholar 

  26. Ho DYF, Kang TK (1984) Intergenerational comparisons of child-rearing attitudes and practices in Hong Kong. Dev Psychol 20:1004–1016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Kagan J (1998) Biology and the child. In: Handbook of child psychology: Social, emotional and personality development, vol. 3(5). Series ed. Damon W, Vol. Ed. Eisenberg N. New York: Wiley, pp 177–235

  28. Rothbart MK (1988) Temperament and the development of the inhibited approach. Child Dev 59:1241–1250

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Carranza JA, Perez J, González C, Martínez MT (2000) A longitudinal study of temperament in infancy: stability and convergence of measures. Eur J Pers 41:21–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Rothbart MK (1981) Measurement of temperament in infancy. Child Dev 52:569–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Ruff HA, Rothbart MK (1996) Attention in early development: themes and variations. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  32. Posner MI, Rothbart MK (1992) Attention and conscious experience. In: Milner AD, Rugg MD (eds) The europsychology of consciousness. Academic Press, London, pp 183–199

    Google Scholar 

  33. Cairns RB (1983) The emergence of developmental psychology. In: Mussen PH (ed) Handbook of child psychology: history, theory, and methods. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  34. McDevitt SC, Carey WF (1981) Stability of ratings vs. perceptions of temperament from early infancy to 1–3 years. Am J Orthopsychiatry 51:342–345

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Peters-Martin P, Wachs T (1984) A longitudinal study of temperament and its correlates in the first 12 months. Infant Behav Dev 7:285–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Riese ML (1987) Temperamental stability between the neonatal period and 24 months. Dev Psychol 23:216–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Rothbart MK (1986) Longitudinal observation of infant temperament. Dev Psychol 22:356–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. González C, Hidalgo MD, Carranza JA, Ato M (2000) Elaboración de una adaptación a población española del Cuestionario Infant Behavior Questionnaire para la medida del temperamento en la infancia (Development of a Spanish adaptation of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire for the measurement of temperament in infancy). Psicothema 12:513–519

    Google Scholar 

  39. Ye R, Rothbart MK (1988) A longitudinal study of infants’ behaviors. Psychol Dev Educ 4:6–10

    Google Scholar 

  40. Bridges LJ, Palmer SA, Morales M, Hurtado M, Tsai D (1993) Agreement between affectively based observational and parent-report measures of temperament at infant age 6 months. Infant Behav Dev 16:501–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Crockenberg S, Acredolo C (1983) Infant temperament ratings: a function of infants, of mothers, or both? Infant Behav Dev 6:61–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Goldsmith HH, Rothbart MK (1991) Contemporary instruments for assessing early temperament by questionnaire and in the laboratory. In: Angleitner A, Strelau J (eds) Explorations in temperament: International perspectives on theory and measurement. Plenum, New York

    Google Scholar 

  43. Reznick JS, Gibbons JL, Johnson MO, McDonough PM (1989) Behavioral inhibition in a normative sample. In: Reznick JS (ed) Perspectives on behavioral inhibition. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on mental health and development. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp 25–49

  44. Zhang K, Lee Y, McCauley CR (1999) Chinese-American differences: A Chinese view. In: Lee Y, McCauley CR, Draguns JG (eds) Personality and person perception across cultures. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 127–138

    Google Scholar 

  45. Diaz-Loving R, Draguns JG (1999) Culture, meaning, and personality in Mexico and the United States. In: Lee Y, McCauley CR, Draguns JG (eds) Personality and person perception across cultures. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, pp 103–125

    Google Scholar 

  46. Freedman DG (1971) Genetic influences on development of behavior. In: Stoelinga G, van der Werff Ten Bosch J (eds) Normal and abnormal development of behavior. Leiden University Press, Leiden, the Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  47. Woodson RH, da Costa E (1989) The behavior of Chinese, Malay, and Tamil newborns from Malaysia. In: Nugent JK, Lester BM, Brazelton TB (eds) The cultural context of infancy. Ablex Publishing Corporation, Norwood, NJ, pp 295–317

    Google Scholar 

  48. Brazelton TB (1989) Culture and newborn behavior: uses of the NBAS in different cultural settings. In: Nugent JK, Lester BM, Brazelton TB (eds) The cultural context of infancy. Ablex Publishing Corporation, Norwood, NJ, pp 367–381

    Google Scholar 

  49. Muret-Wagstaff S, Moore SG (1989) The Hmong in America: infant behavior and rearing practices. In: Nugent JK, Lester BM, Brazelton TB (eds) The cultural context of infancy. Ablex Publishing Corporation, Norwood, NJ, pp. 319–340

    Google Scholar 

  50. Draguns JG, Tanaka-Matsumi J (2003) Assessment of psychopathology across and within cultures: issues and findings. Behav Res Ther 41:755–776

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Crinjen AAM, Achenbach TM, Verhulst FC (1999) Problems reported by parents of children in multiple cultures: the Child Behavior Checklist syndrome constructs. Am J Psychiatry 156:569–574

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Washington State University, P.O. Box 644820, Pullman, WA, 99164-4840, USA

    Maria A. Gartstein

  2. Facultad de PsicologHa, Campus Universitario de La Merced, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    Carmen Gonzalez & Jose A. Carranza

  3. MetriTech Inc., 4106, Fieldstone Road, Champaign, IL, 61821, USA

    Stephan A. Ahadi

  4. Houston Independent School District, 4400 West 18th Street, Houston, TX, 77092-8501, USA

    Renmin Ye

  5. Department of Psychology, 1227, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403-1227, USA

    Mary K. Rothbart

  6. Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 935 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, USA

    Suh Wen Yang

Authors
  1. Maria A. Gartstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carmen Gonzalez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jose A. Carranza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stephan A. Ahadi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Renmin Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mary K. Rothbart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Suh Wen Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria A. Gartstein.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gartstein, M.A., Gonzalez, C., Carranza, J.A. et al. Studying Cross-cultural Differences in the Development of Infant Temperament: People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, and Spain. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 37, 145–161 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-006-0025-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-006-0025-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation