Interrelations between temperament, character, and parental rearing among delinquent adolescents: a cross-validation

We performed a cross-validation of results from investigations in juvenile delinquents in Russia and Germany concerning relationships of personality characteristics in terms of temperament and character with parental rearing. Both studies used the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) based on Cloninger's psychobiological theory, and the Own Memories on Parenting (Egna Minnen Betr?ffande Uppfostran-Swedish [EMBU]) questionnaire on parental rearing based on Perris' vulnerability model. The inter-relatedness of parental rearing, temperament, and character traits in socially normally integrated adolescents, as well as in delinquent adolescents, implying direct and indirect pathways from personality and parental rearing to delinquency, could be cross-validated. Differences between delinquents and socially normally integrated adolescents are rather based on different levels of expressions of various temperament traits, harm avoidance and novelty seeking in particular, and the character trait self-directedness, as well as on parental rearing behavior (predominantly parental rejection and emotional warmth) than on different structures within related developmental processes.     

Temperament, character and perceived parental rearing in healthy adults: two related concepts?

The goal of this study was to test for relationships between personality according to Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and perceived parental rearing under consideration of cognitive distortions as confounding variables. Five hundred and forty healthy volunteers completed the TCI, the EMBU questionnaire (assessing perceived parental rearing), and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale. The data were subjected to Pearson correlations, partial correlations, multiple regression, and factor analyses. Gender-specific relationships were found between parental rearing and both the temperament and the character dimensions. The factor structure of the TCI remained unchanged irrespective of the inclusion of the parental rearing factors. Since environmental factors (e.g., parental rearing) influence both temperament (supposed to be genetically determined) and character dimensions, the focus should be on the interaction between both aspects through the life span.     

Do parental rearing and personality characteristics have a buffering effect against psychopathological manifestations among Iranian refugees in Sweden?

The aim of the study was to investigate relationships between temperament, character and perceived parental rearing among Iranian refugees resettled in Sweden. Our hypothesis was that temperament, character and parental rearing exert buffering effect against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the particular impact of specific factors. One hundred refugees participated in the project. They were assessed by means of the SCL-90-R, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the EMBU and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). A high level of self-directedness appeared as having a possible buffering effect against PTSD after several severe traumata. Furthermore, we found specific effects of other personality characteristics and of parental rearing in determining the relationships between the experience of several traumatic events and later psychopathological manifestations among the refugees. The educational level and the length of living in Sweden represented important socio-cultural factors in decreasing psychological disturbances. Even more, we found that despite the experience of an extreme trauma some of the refugees did not suffer from severe depression or other psychosomatic complaints.     

Conduct problems in Russian adolescents: the role of personality and parental rearing

The Purpose of the present study was 1) to assess the predictive value of conduct problems prior to the age of 12 for the severity of antisocial behaviour during adolescence, and 2) to investigate the relationships between personality traits/parental rearing and childhood conduct problems/teenage antisocial behaviour. A group of 193 delinquents was assessed by means of the Antisocial Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Retrospective Childhood Problems (RETROPROB), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the EMBU questionnaire on parental rearing. The extreme groups of delinquents as defined by childhood conduct problems, differed significantly on the experience of a rejecting father and a self-directed character. Furthermore, some specific predictive patterns for current antisocial behaviour by childhood conduct disorder and both personality dimensions and parental rearing factors emerged. The findings are discussed in the light of the interactive nature of relations between personality and parental rearing in the development of antisocial behaviour among adolescents. Accepted: 14 August 2000     

Anger and hostility in adolescents: relationships with self-reported attachment style and perceived parental rearing styles

OBJECTIVE: To examine relationships between self-reported attachment style and parental rearing behaviors, on the one hand, and anger/hostility, on the other hand, in a sample of nonclinical adolescents (N=441). METHOD: Participants completed (a) a single-item measure of attachment style; (b) a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviors; and (c) two scales assessing anger and hostility. RESULTS: Self-reported attachment style was related to anger/hostility. That is, adolescents who defined themselves as avoidantly or ambivalently attached displayed higher levels of anger/hostility than adolescents who classified themselves as securely attached. Furthermore, perceived parental rearing was also related to anger/hostility. More specifically, low levels of emotional warmth and high levels of rejection, control, and inconsistency were accompanied by high levels of anger/hostility. Finally, regression analyses showed that both attachment status and parental rearing behaviors accounted for a unique and significant proportion of the variance in anger/hostility. CONCLUSION: These findings are in keeping with the notion that family environment factors such as attachment style and parental rearing are involved in the development of anger/hostility in youths.     

Transhistorical variations in personality and their association with experiences of parental rearing.

A population sample comprised of 765 subjects (367 males and 398 females), in the age range of 15-81 years, completed the EMBU, a reliable questionnaire aimed at assessing experiences of parental rearing, and the TCI, a self-report questionnaire aimed at assessing dimensions of temperament and character. The study had three main aims: 1) to verify, on a larger scale, previous findings suggesting the occurrence of significant associations between experiences of parental rearing and aspects of temperament and character, 2) to assess possible variations in temperament and character in cohorts of subjects who have grown up in different historical epochs, and 3) to investigate to what extent transgenerational differences in parental rearing are detectable in different associations with various dimensions of personality. Several, albeit small, significant and meaningful associations between experiences of parental rearing and both temperament and character dimensions have been found, adding support to the robustness of previously reported results obtained in an independent smaller series. Also, several significant differences among subjects in different age groups have been found, both concerning temperament variables and character dimensions. Finally, the results show that associations between experiences of parental rearing and dimensions of temperament and character are most pronounced in subjects belonging to the youngest cohort and almost nil in the cohort comprising the oldest subjects.     

The relationship between the biogenetic temperament and character and psychopathology in adolescents

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between patterns of temperament and character and self-reported psychopathology in adolescents from the community. SAMPLING AND METHODS: The Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) instruments were administered to 623 Korean middle school students (boys/girls = 331/292; age = 13.3 +/- 0.9 years old). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between temperament and character based on Cloninger's biogenetic theory of personality and youth psychopathology of internalizing and externalizing problems. RESULTS: Internalizing problems of the YSR (withdrawn, somatic complaint and anxious/depressed scales) were significantly related to high Harm Avoidance and low Reward Dependence (JTCI temperament) and low Self-Directedness and high Self-Transcendence (JTCI character). Externalizing problems of the YSR (delinquency and aggression) were significantly associated with high Novelty Seeking and high Harm Avoidance (JTCI temperament) and low Self-Directedness, low Cooperativeness and high Self-Transcendence (JTCI character). CONCLUSIONS: Findings of the current study suggest that specific patterns of temperament and character potentially influence adolescents' psychopathology in the community.     

Personality and attempted suicide. Analysis of anger, aggression and impulsivity

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, mortality from suicide being approximately 2%. Attempted suicide appears to be a major risk factor for suicide completion. Anger, aggression and impulsivity are personality traits associated with suicide attempt. In this study we analysed a part of a previously reported sample in order to test anger, impulsivity and temperament/character scales as predictors of aggression and self-aggression in suicide attempters and to compare anger- and aggression-related traits between impulsive and premeditated suicide attempts as well as between violent and non-violent suicide methods.One-hundred-eleven consecutively admitted inpatients with a lifetime history of attempted suicide were assessed for anger (State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, STAXI), aggression (Questionnaire for Measuring Factors of Aggression, FAF) and temperament/character (Temperament and Character Inventory, TCI).Higher aggression scores, as measured by FAF, were predicted by being male, meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder and having higher angry temperament scores as assessed by STAXI; low cooperativeness was also associated with aggression but not after controlling for STAXI scales. TCI dimensions associated with self-aggression were high harm avoidance, high impulsivity and low self-directedness; state anger, inwardly directed anger and inhibition of aggression were also predictors of self-aggression.In conclusion, impulsivity and harm avoidance have emerged as temperament dimensions independently associated with self-aggressive tendencies in personality. Such interactions could explain the correlation between temperament and suicidality but further research is needed. Anger and self-directedness appear to have some effects on suicide attempt.     

Personality, parental rearing behaviour and parental loss in attempted suicide: a comparative study

Thirty psychiatric patients (aged 18-29) who had attempted suicide were compared with 2 matched control groups, one consisting of nonsuicidal psychiatric patients and the other of normal subjects, for personality patterns, parental rearing practices and personal loss before the age of 15. The instruments used were the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), the Lazare-Klerman-Armor Trait Scale (LKAS), the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and the Own Memories of Child-Rearing Experiences (EMBU). Patients admitted for suicide attempts differed significantly from normals on several personality dimensions, whereas suicide attempters did not have personality characteristics that made them substantially different from nonsuicidal psychiatric controls. The suicide attempters had experienced significantly more negative and less positive parental rearing factors than normals, but no difference was found between suicidal and nonsuicidal patients for own memories of parental rearing patterns. Parental loss due to divorce had occurred significantly more often among suicide attempters than among both nonsuicidal psychiatric patients and normals.     

Vulnerability factors to depression

The objective of this study is to reveal in their complexity the biological and cognitive vulnerability factors, as well as the environmental and socialisation predisposing factors playing a role in the development of depression in non-clinical sample of subjects (college students). Biological vulnerability was examined through temperament and character features, cognitive vulnerability was examined through dysfunctional attitudes, attributional style and coping strategies, and environmental, socialization predisposing factors were observed through certain family socialisation effects (type of family atmosphere, educational objectives, educational and rearing attitudes and style) and parental rearing behaviour. 681 college students were involved in this study (465 females, 216 males). Students were assigned to the study group if they fell in the fourth quartile of the sample based on the results obtained by the Beck's Depression Inventory: 170 persons (128 females, 42 males). Students who fell in the first quartile of the sample on the basis of their results obtained by the mentioned Inventory formed the control group: 204 persons (118 females, 86 males). The results of our study have demonstrated that in a sub-clinical sample the lack of parental care was observed to be a socialization predisposing factor in the development of depression, while certain dysfunctional attitudes and pessimistic interpretation styles were detected to be cognitive vulnerability factors, and harm avoidance proved to be a biological vulnerability factor. We also managed to reveal the effects of certain background factors, which produce their influence indirectly through mediating factors.     

Personality,perceived parental rejection and problem behavior in adolescence

BACKGROUND: It has been well documented that adolescents run a heightened risk for developing depression and aggression when they feel rejected by their parents and that parental rejection has different effects for gender in developing depression and aggression. Whether personality in combination with gender plays a role in the association between parental rejection, depression and aggression has not yet received much attention. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study using data from the Conflict and Management of Relationships study (CONAMORE). A total of 1142 early and middle adolescents completed questionnaires about parental rejection, depression, aggression and personality. The associations between the variables were tested in multi-group moderation models using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Perceived parental rejection was associated with depression and aggression in most of the combined personality type and gender groups. Personality type and gender moderated the associations between perceived parental rejection, depression and aggression. Several clear differences between the combined personality type and gender groups were found on these associations. CONCLUSION: Several clear moderating effects of the personality type x gender groups were found on associations between perceived parental rejection, depression and aggression. Future research should focus on these specific combinations instead of using either personality types or gender separately.     

Influences of parental rearing on the personality traits of healthy Japanese

Influences of parental rearing on the personality traits of healthy subjects were studied in 323 Japanese volunteers. Perceived parental rearing was assessed with the use of the Parental Bonding Instrument, which consists of the factors of care and protection, whereas personality traits were assessed with the use of the Temperament and Character Inventory, which has 7 dimensions. In male subjects, all personality dimensions except for novelty seeking were influenced by parental rearing; in female subjects, only the harm avoidance (HA) and self-directedness (SD) dimensions were affected by parenting. Paternal rearing influenced 3 dimensions in male subjects and 1 dimension in female subjects, whereas maternal rearing influenced 5 dimensions in male subjects and 2 dimensions in female subjects. In male subjects, higher HA was related to higher paternal protection (P < .05), whereas in female subjects, it was related to higher maternal protection (P < .01). In male subjects, lower SD was related to higher paternal protection (P < .05) and lower maternal care (P < .01), whereas in female subjects, it was related to lower paternal care (P < .05) and higher maternal protection (P < .01). These results suggest that parental rearing influences the personality traits of healthy subjects, especially HA and SD, with sex specificity in parents and recipients.     

Parental attachment,self-control,and depressive symptoms in Chinese and Italian adolescents: Test of a mediation model

The current study investigated the relationship between parental attachment and depressive symptoms as well as the mediating effect of self-control in two different cultures. Samples were 1305 Chinese and 1327 Italian adolescents. They completed the Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment, the Self-Restraint Subscale of the Adolescents' Self-Consciousness Scale, and the Children's Depression Inventory that assessed parental attachment, self-control, and depressive symptoms, respectively. Results showed that: (1) Few cultural differences in depressive symptom were observed. (2) Parental attachment and self-control were negatively related to depressive symptoms in both cultures. (3) Self-control mediated the relations between parental attachment and depressive symptoms in both cultures. (4) The direct and indirect effects were invariant across cultures. In conclusion, parental attachment and self-control are important for adolescents' depressive symptoms in Chinese and Italian adolescents.     

Relationship of perceived parenting practices to anger regulation and coping strategies in African-American adolescents

This study examined the relationship of perceived parenting practices to anger and coping in a sample of 70 African-American adolescents. Regression analyses reveled that perceptions of parental strictness were negatively related to anger temperament, anger-out, and avoidance (all p<0.05), and was positively associated with engaging in demanding activities (p<0.02). Additionally, perceptions of parental involvement were positively related to seeking diversions (p<0.04), and perceptions of parental autonomy granting were negatively related to anger-out (p<0.02). These findings highlight the potential importance of the perceived parent-adolescent relationship for African-American adolescents.     

Temperamental Characteristics of Withdrawn Behavior Problems in Children

Withdrawn/depressed behavior (WD) as defined by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) relates to various outcomes in developmental psychopathology such as depression, pervasive developmental disorders, and suicide. We sought to examine the temperamental characteristics of children who concurrently endorse symptoms of WD. Junior Temperament and Characteristic Inventory (JTCI) and CBCL data were collected from 397 children’s parents in a family study in the northeastern United States. Linear mixed models were used to test the relations between WD and temperament dimensions (Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, Persistence) on the JTCI, while controlling for age, sex, item overlap, and co-occurring aggression and attention problems. When controlling for definitional artifact and CBCL aggressive behavior and attention scores, high harm avoidance and low reward dependence were both significant predictors of childhood withdrawn behavior. This study marks the first characterization of a temperamental profile associated with WD in children and adolescents.     

Temperament Moderators of Prospective Associations Between Community Violence Exposure and Urban African American Adolescents’ Aggressive Behavior

Research suggests that neighborhood risks are associated with internalizing symptoms for adolescents high on temperament characteristics related to the behavioral inhibition system (BIS). However, it is unclear whether newer conceptualizations of the BIS distinguishing fear from anxiety operate similarly. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the BIS attenuates community violence exposure effects on externalizing problems. The current study examined whether the BIS or the fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) moderated associations between community violence exposure and internalizing and externalizing problems. Participants were 367 urban African American adolescents who reported on temperament characteristics in grade 9, and community violence exposure and adjustment problems in grades 9 and 10. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that the FFFS, but not the BIS, moderated the association between community violence exposure and aggressive behavior. Grade 9 community violence exposure was positively associated with grade 10 aggression for adolescents low on FFFS, suggesting that the FFFS may partly differentiate community violence-exposed adolescents’ aggressive behavior.     

Relations among perceived parental rearing behaviors, attachment style, and worry in anxious children

The present study extended the findings of Muris et al. [Muris, P., Meesters, C., Merckelbach, H., & Hulsenbeck, P. (2000). Worry in children is related to perceived parental rearing and attachment. Behavior Research and Therapy, 38, 487-497] regarding the relations between perceived parental rearing behaviors, self-reported attachment style, and worry in a community sample to a clinical sample of anxious children. Sixty-four children and adolescents, aged 7-18 years, with a primary anxiety disorder completed (a) the EMBU-C, a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviors, (b) a single-item measure of attachment style, and (c) an index of worry severity. Findings revealed that child rated parental rearing behaviors, particularly parental rejection, were positively related to child worry. Self-reported attachment style was also related to worry, such that children who classified themselves as ambivalently attached reported higher levels of worry than did children who classified themselves as securely attached. Parenting style and attachment were found to make independent contributions to worry. The results are compared to those from Muris et al.'s community study, and implications for future research are discussed.     

Comparison of the suicidal behavior of adolescent inpatients with borderline personality disorder and major depression

The objective of the study was to examine the hypothesis that some forms of suicidal behavior among adolescents are related to helplessness and depression, whereas others are related to anger and impulsivity. Sixty-five adolescents were studied. Thirty-three had borderline personality disorder (BPD), of whom 17 had made a recent suicide attempt. Thirty-two had major depressive disorder (MDD), of whom 16 had made a recent suicide attempt. Assessments were made with the Child Suicide Potential Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Multidimensional Anger Inventory, the Overt Aggression Scale, the Impulsiveness-Control Scale, and the Suicide Intent Scale. Adolescents with BPD had more anger, aggression, and impulsiveness than those with MDD, but similar levels of depression and hopelessness. Suicidal versus nonsuicidal adolescents were more depressed, hopeless, and aggressive, but not more angry or impulsive. There were no significant differences in impulsiveness for the MDD suicidal group versus the MDD nonsuicidal group, but the suicidal BPD adolescents were significantly more impulsive than the nonsuicidal BPD adolescents. In the subjects with BPD, impulsiveness and aggression correlated significantly and positively with suicidal behavior. In the subjects with MDD, no such correlations were seen. In both diagnostic groups, depression and hopelessness correlated positively and significantly with suicidal behavior. Anger did not correlate with suicidal behavior in either of the groups. The suicidal subjects with MDD had significantly higher suicidal intent scores than the suicidal adolescents with BPD. We conclude that the nature of suicidal behavior in adolescents with BPD differs from that seen in MDD with respect to the role of anger and aggression.     

Understanding externalizing behavior from children's personality and parenting characteristics

A total of 946 Japanese children in the 5th to 9th grades and their parents were studied in order to investigate the extent to which parenting characteristics (measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument) and the personality of the child (measured by the junior version of the Temperament and Character Inventory) would be associated with the two aspects of the externalizing problems — aggression and delinquency — of the child (measured by the Child Behavior Checklist). A series of regression analyses demonstrated that (1) aggressive children were higher in Novelty Seeking, and delinquent children were higher in Novelty Seeking and lower in Harm Avoidance, and (2) both aggressive and delinquent children were characterised by low maternal care, paternal over-protection, and low maternal overprotection. A structural equation model confirmed these findings except for the link between the two externalising behaviour scores and the maternal care. Moreover, it was suggested that Novelty seeking of the child would be predicted by low parental care and low paternal and high maternal overprotection. The children's aggression and delinquency could, to some extent, be explainable by their temperament patterns and parental characteristics.     

Parental rearing and problem behaviours in male delinquent adolescents versus controls in northern Russia

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible relationships between parental rearing practices and problem behaviours in a sample of male delinquent adolescents versus controls. A total of 133 subjects from a juvenile correction centre and 108 matched schoolchildren in the Arkhangelsk region, Russia, were assessed by means of the EMBU questionnaire and Youth Self-Report. Delinquents were more severely treated by parents and had more pronounced problem scores. Furthermore, problem scores were found to be highly correlated with parental rejection and lack of emotional warmth in both delinquents and controls. Parental rearing practices may influence the development of problem behaviours. The implications of these findings with regard to preventive measures are discussed. Accepted: 18 February 1998