Assessment of temperament in children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. A pilot study into the role of motor disabilities in instruments to measure temperament

Abstract

Research on temperament has evolved substantially throughout the last years. Assessing temperament in a child gives information about why the child reacts differently in different situations and can be seen as one of the variables playing a role in determining adaptive and maladaptive outcomes. Insight into the temperament of the child, therefore, facilitates the adaptation of support or child-rearing practices to the specific needs and wishes of the child. The current study aimed at reviewing existing temperament instruments among young children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). An inventory of the existing instruments, which can determine temperament, was made based on a literature review. A total of 138 articles were found in which temperament was measured. None of these studies included children with PIMD. The Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) very short form and the Child Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) very short form seem to be the most appropriate forms to measure temperament. Because motor disabilities are one of the main characteristics of these children, assessment instrument must be accommodated to minimize impairment bias, without altering what the test measures. Therefore, a pilot-study with 12 children with PIMD (age between 1.8 and 4.9 years) was conducted to analyze the bias of motor disabilities on these instrument. Results showed that seven (19.4%) of the CBQ items and nine (24.3%) of the IBQ-R items contained motor behavior which biased the validity of the instrument. A proposal is made regarding the adaptation of the nine IBQ-R items.

Keywords

• temperament
• assessment
• children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities