Poster #160 - Children’s Temperamental Activity Level and Their Daily Activities, in Five Cultures

• In Event: 2-002 - Special Poster Session 05 with Continental Breakfast Reception
  In Poster Session: PS 05 - International Section

Integrative Statement

The developmental niche framework posits (Super & Harkness, 1986) that child development is influenced by three interacting subsystems: the physical and social settings, customs and practices of childrearing, and parents’ psychology (e.g. ethnotheories). Children also influence the subsystems through active seeking of their environments. This is mediated by their temperament (e.g., activity level, approach, mood), the individual biological dispositions that underly behavior from a young age. Children’s daily activities serve as some of the most important settings that facilitate development; however, to our knowledge no study to date has assessed whether children’s temperament is associated with time spent in everyday activities. Cross-cultural variations have been observed in the time children spend in basic everyday activities (e.g. Harkness et al., 2011) and between temperament and mothers’ perceived difficulty of managing their children (Super et al., 2008). This underscores the importance of studying cross-cultural relations between temperament and daily activities.

The present study assessed the relations between children’s temperamental activity level and time spent with peers, playing, and in academic learning activities across five cultures. Twenty-nine Italian, 51 Dutch, 33 Spanish, 34 Swedish, and 24 American mothers of 3 to 7-year-old children completed temperament questionnaires (BSQ: McDevitt & Carey; 1978) and week-long daily diaries of children’s activities. Time spent in the three activities were averaged across the five days. First, ANCOVAs with country as a factor and Activity Level as a covariate were carried out separately for each daily activity, with an Activity Level by country interaction to assess variation by country. Linear regression analyses pooled across countries were used to follow-up significant Activity Level main effects, and within country regressions were carried out to follow-up interactions.

Results revealed that children’s Activity Level was a significant covariate for children’s time spent playing (F(1,160) = 8.10, p=.01) and in academic activities (F(1,160) = 5.70, p=.02), but not for time spent with peers (F(1,160) =.04, p=.83). Pooled across all countries, more physically active children spent less time in academic learning activities (β = -4.27, p=.03, r2=.03; see Figure 1). This relationship did not significantly vary across country. While there was no significant main effect of Activity Level on play time, a significant activity level by country interaction emerged (F(4,159) = 2.53, p=.04). Figure 2 shows that higher Activity Level was associated with more time playing for Spanish and American children, while there appeared to be no effect for Italian, Dutch, and Swedish children. However, follow-up analyses indicated that the relationship between Activity Level and time spent playing was significant only for children from the United States (β=29.22, p<.01, r2=.42).

These findings highlight that children’s temperamental activity level may be associated with how caregivers structure the daily activities for children’s development. This association, however, may depend on the type of activity and the child’s cultural environment. Additionally, educators and parenting specialists should take into account how temperament can influence children’s adaptiveness in institutional settings and preferences for organized activities.

Authors

• Daniell Carvalheiro, University of Connecticut
  Presenting Author

• Sara Harkness, U. of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Charles M. Super, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Moises Rios Bermudez, University of Seville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sabrina Bonichini, University of Padua
  Non-Presenting Author

• Barbara Welles, Fairfield University
  Non-Presenting Author