Temperament, Parenting and Implications for Development

Research has focused most on temperament dimensions of self-regulation or effortful control, general positive emotional reactivity, general negative emotional reactivity, and more specific aspects of negative emotionality reflecting fearfulness and inhibition on the one hand, and anger and irritability on the other hand. Much research has also considered whether temperament dimensions predict subsequent child adjustment outcomes. Some research has considered how temperament and parenting combine to predict child outcomes. Parental warmth (support, affection) and firm control (discipline) have been identified as particularly important. 2