Temperamental profiles and language development: A replication and an extension

Individual differences in child temperament are associated with individual differences in language development. The present study examined the relationship between temperament and language ability in 109 twenty-four- to 30-month-old children. Parents and day-care teachers completed two questionnaires: the Primo Vocabolario del Bambino ( Caselli & Casadio, 1995) and the Questionari Italiani del Temperamento ( Axia, 2002). Researchers administered the First Language Test ( Axia, 1993) to assess productive and receptive language in each child.Replicating previous research (Usai, Garello, & Viterbori, 2009), day-care teachers identified three temperamental profiles: most of the children fit into the first profile, typical of the Italian population; another profile was made up of easily distractible and not very persistent children, with a poor capacity to modulate motor activity; and the third profile of children were inhibited in new situations. A relationship was found between temperament assessed by day-care teachers and different levels of linguistic competence. In particular, the groups of “inattentive” and “inhibited” children showed poorer lexical and morphological abilities and a more immature vocabulary, characterised by the presence of more primitive components of the lexical repertory compared to the group of “typical” children. Unlike the results from day-care teachers, temperament questionnaires completed by parents revealed a 4-cluster-solution. Also, for parents, the “typical” profile is characterised by the largest vocabulary (productive and receptive) and the most mature semantic production.

► Day-care teachers identified three temperamental profiles: a “typical” profile that grouped most children; an “inhibited” profile of children who show intense negative emotional manifestations and difficulties in coping with novelty; and an “inattentive” profile, identifying children with relatively poor attention spans and a high level of motor activity.
► A relationship was found between temperamental profile identified by day-care teachers and different levels of linguistic competence.
► The groups of “inattentive” and “inhibited” children showed poorer lexical and morphological abilities and a more immature vocabulary, compared to the group of “typical” children.
► Unlike the results from day-care teachers, temperament questionnaires completed by parents revealed a 4-cluster-solution.
► Both teachers and parents evaluated “typical” children as having the highest linguistic abilities.