THE INFANT CHARACTERISTICS QUESTIONNAIRE - EVALUATION WITH A NEW-ZEALAND SAMPLE

The notion of infant temperament has attracted growing interest from d evelopmental researchers and those interested in such problems as post -natal depression. The development of the Infant Characteristics Quest ionnaire (ICQ) has provided a brief and psychometrically sound instrum ent for the measurement of this variable. The present study describes an attempt to test the psychometric properties of the ICQ with a sampl e of 102 mothers of infants aged between three and six months in Welli ngton, New Zealand. The internal reliability, test-retest reliability, factor structure and correlations with infant crying diaries are repo rted. It is concluded that while further validational data are desirab le, the present study confirms the merits of the ICQ with a New Zealan d sample.