The present work aims at verifying the existence of such relations, focusing attention on the Behavioural Inhibition (BI) temperamental trait, recognised in literature as a risk factor for the development of social phobia in adolescence (Biederman et al., 2001; Rotge et al., 2011). The sample consists of 100 3 to 5 year old children and the teachers and parents. Direct measurements on the child were used to assess cognitive abilities (IQ and linguistic abilities) and the perceptions of teachers and parents, regarding child temperament and Behavioural Inhibition, were assessed and compared. The instruments used were the Behavioural Inhibition Questionnaire (Bishop et al., 2003), the Italian Questionnaires of Temperament (Axia, 2002), the Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (Raven et al., 1998), two subscales from the Metaphonological Competences (Marotta et al., 2008), and the Non-Word Repetition (Vicari, 2008). The results suggest the parents and teachers have a significantly different perception of children, regarding certain temperamental dimensions. The teachers perceive the children as having a higher level of Behavioural Inhibition and Attention, compared to the perception of parents, while the former describe the children as having higher levels of Inhibition towards Novelty, Negative Emotionality and Motor Activity. Regarding cognitive abilities, children with a higher IQ are perceived as less inhibited towards noveltyby mothers and teachers. In summary, the difference in perception between parents and teachers could be hypothesised to be tied to the different observational context and to the different role, which might indicate a more complete perception of child temperament in teachers. Further research is needed to better study these aspects.
How are preschool children perceived? Relations among behavioural inhibition, temperament and cognitive performances
MINELLI, MARIANNA;BERTOSSI, ELENA;AGOSTINI, FRANCESCA;BENASSI, MARIAGRAZIA;GIOVAGNOLI, SARA
2013
Abstract
The present work aims at verifying the existence of such relations, focusing attention on the Behavioural Inhibition (BI) temperamental trait, recognised in literature as a risk factor for the development of social phobia in adolescence (Biederman et al., 2001; Rotge et al., 2011). The sample consists of 100 3 to 5 year old children and the teachers and parents. Direct measurements on the child were used to assess cognitive abilities (IQ and linguistic abilities) and the perceptions of teachers and parents, regarding child temperament and Behavioural Inhibition, were assessed and compared. The instruments used were the Behavioural Inhibition Questionnaire (Bishop et al., 2003), the Italian Questionnaires of Temperament (Axia, 2002), the Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (Raven et al., 1998), two subscales from the Metaphonological Competences (Marotta et al., 2008), and the Non-Word Repetition (Vicari, 2008). The results suggest the parents and teachers have a significantly different perception of children, regarding certain temperamental dimensions. The teachers perceive the children as having a higher level of Behavioural Inhibition and Attention, compared to the perception of parents, while the former describe the children as having higher levels of Inhibition towards Novelty, Negative Emotionality and Motor Activity. Regarding cognitive abilities, children with a higher IQ are perceived as less inhibited towards noveltyby mothers and teachers. In summary, the difference in perception between parents and teachers could be hypothesised to be tied to the different observational context and to the different role, which might indicate a more complete perception of child temperament in teachers. Further research is needed to better study these aspects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
