Poster #88 - Measuring Child Positive Affectivity Using Lab-TAB: Consistency and Discrepancy

• In Event: Poster Session 08

Abstract

Positive affectivity (PA), an important emotional dimension of child temperament, is relatively understudied compared with other temperament dimensions(Gartstein et al., 2018). Previous research has associated child PA with positive outcomes such as school readiness and maternal parenting (Bridgett et al., 2013; Gartstein et al., 2016), while some studies failed to link PA to developmental outcomes (Gartstein et al., 2008; Gustafsson et al., 2021). Variations in the measurement of PA may be a potential reason for such mixed findings as previous studies have suggested that child PA may be situation-specific and dependent on concurrent surroundings (Gartstein et al., 2008). Thus, the current study aims to assess child PA using five different episodes of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB; Goldsmith et al., 1993), a comprehensive lab-based temperament assessment. Associations among PA scores across the five episodes were first examined. We then investigated how both the overall average PA profile as well as the episode-level PA scores were related to child EF, temperament and adjustment outcomes and parent characteristics.
The sample consisted of 201 typically developing children (mean age = 3.86 years, SD = 1.04) and their mothers from 100 families. Five episodes from the preschool Lab-TAB were used to measure PA, including Corral of Balls, End of the Line, Gift, Snack Delay, and Stranger Approach. PA scores were coded in all five episodes based on the presence of smiling or laughter every 10 seconds throughout the episode. An overall PA mean across the five episodes was also calculated. Child working memory and inhibitory control were also measured using laboratory tasks. Parent report measures used included the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire-Revised (TBAQ-R), the A-Trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Emotionality Activity Sociality survey (EAS). In addition, post-visit ratings of child temperament were also completed by experimenters after each lab visit.
Moderate correlations among the episode-level PA scores were found, ranging from .185 to .384 (see Table 1). This pattern of correlations suggested that the Lab-TAB coding measures effectively and consistently captured the PA dimension of child temperament in the different lab settings. Significant correlations between PA scores and child outcomes and maternal characteristics are presented in Table 2. The mean score of child PA across all five episodes was significantly related to lower levels of EAS child emotionality, TBAQ object fear, maternal state anxiety, and CBCL child anxiety/depression and anxiety levels. While looking at the individual episodes, PA scores were generally associated with more specific outcomes than the mean PA profile.
Results of the current study suggest that both episode-level and cross-episode Lab-TAB assessments of child PA indicate good internal consistency, even though these five episodes were not originally designed for measuring PA in children. The PA profile score is generally associated with reduced fear and anxiety in children and mothers, while episode-level PA represented some situational relations with outcomes.

Authors

• Fanyi Yu, Texas A&M University - College Station
  Presenting Author

• Yingying Zhao, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Jeffrey R. Gagne, Texas A&M University - College Station