Measuring difficult temperament the easy way

In this study, the authors introduce a new measure of infant temperament, t he Pictorial Assessment of Temperament (PAT), and provide information about its psychometric qualities based on findings from a study of 132 mothers a nd infants. The PAT is a IO-item measure of "difficult" temperament that is quick and easy to use and avoids some of the inherent problems in existing paper-and-pencil measures of temperament (e.g., complexity of response cho ices, dependence on respondents' educational level and verbal skills). It h as convergent validity with the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire an d with observed behavior in a laboratory procedure, moderate reliability an d stability over time, and moderate agreement between mothers' and fathers' reports. Predictive validity was demonstrated by significant associations with the children's later disruptive behavior, behavior problems, lack of s ociability, and negativity in interactions with their mother. Parent charac teristics (agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism,sensitivity, depression ) were not related to scores on the PAT, demonstrating its discriminant val idity.