Temperamental approach/withdrawal and food neophobia in early childhood: Concurrent and longitudinal associations

Stability of food neophobia from infancy through early childhood.

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether rejection of novel foods during infancy predicted child behavioral and parent-reported neophobia at 4.5 years of age. Data for the present study were drawn from a longitudinal study following individuals (n = 82) from infancy through early childhood. At 6 and 12 months of age, the infants tasted a novel food (green beans, hummus, or cottag...

Food fussiness and food neophobia share a common etiology in early childhood

BACKGROUND 'Food fussiness' (FF) is the tendency to be highly selective about which foods one is willing to eat, and emerges in early childhood; 'food neophobia' (FN) is a closely related characteristic but specifically refers to rejection of unfamiliar food. These behaviors are associated, but the extent to which their etiological architecture overlaps is unknown. The objective of this study w...

Developmental Psychology Longitudinal Stability of Temperamental Exuberance and Social–Emotional Outcomes in Early Childhood

Longitudinal stability of temperamental exuberance and social-emotional outcomes in early childhood.

The goals of the current study were to investigate the stability of temperamental exuberance across infancy and toddlerhood and to examine the associations between exuberance and social-emotional outcomes in early childhood. The sample consisted of 291 4-month-olds followed at 9, 24, and 36 months and again at 5 years of age. Behavioral measures of exuberance were collected at 9, 24, and 36 mon...

A population-based study of preschoolers' food neophobia and its associations with food preferences.

OBJECTIVE This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the relationships between food preferences, food neophobia, and children's characteristics among a population-based sample of preschoolers. DESIGN A parent-report questionnaire. SETTING Child-care centers, kindergartens, playgroups, day nurseries, and swimming centers. SUBJECTS 371 two- to five-year-old Australian children. ...