Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (May 2024)

Difficult Toddler Temperament – Prevalence and Associated Factors at 18-Month Follow-Up of a Birth Cohort

  • Bhadelia A,
  • Barr KR,
  • John JR,
  • Jalaludin B,
  • Dissanyake C,
  • Williams K,
  • Woolfenden S,
  • Eapen V

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 20
pp. 967 – 977

Abstract

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A’ishah Bhadelia,1,* Karlen R Barr,2,* James Rufus John,1– 3 Bin Jalaludin,3,4 Cheryl Dissanyake,5 Katrina Williams,6 Susan Woolfenden,7 Valsamma Eapen1– 3 1School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 2South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW, Australia; 3Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia; 4School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 5School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; 6Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; 7Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Valsamma Eapen, ICAMHS, L1 MHC, Liverpool Hospital, Elizabeth Street, Liverpool, NSW, 2170, Australia, Tel +61 02 96164205, Email [email protected]: Difficult temperament coupled with other risk factors may lead to mental health problems in childhood and have long-lasting effects in adolescence and adulthood. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament in toddlers and identify significant factors associated with individual and family-level sociodemographic risk factors.Patients and Methods: The prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament was derived from items in the 18-month follow-up questionnaire within the Watch Me Grow (WMG) longitudinal birth cohort study in a multicultural and socioeconomically disadvantaged community in Sydney, Australia. Data was available for 500 children and their parents. Descriptive analysis was used to calculate the participant characteristics and the prevalence of parental perception of difficult temperament, whereas multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess significant risk factors associated with a difficult temperament.Results: Parental perception of difficult temperament in the cohort was 7.3% (n = 492). Findings of the multivariable logistic regression showed that screen time > 2 hours a day (AOR 2.43, 95% CI: 1.2, 4.9), child not being read to (AOR 3.92, 95% CI: 1.8, 8.5), and family history of mental health problems (AOR 2.69, 95% CI: 1.1, 6.5) significantly increased the odds of having a difficult temperament.Conclusion: Toddlers with difficult temperament were less likely to have received stimulatory experiences, and their families were more likely to be under greater stress. The findings emphasize the importance of parental support and anticipatory guidance in promoting nurturing care to facilitate child health and development, particularly in disadvantaged communities.Keywords: difficult temperament, childhood, toddlers, risk factors

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