Correlation between temperament traits and emotional development indicators in preschool children

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of an investigation into the relationship between temperamental traits and emotional development indicators in preschool children. Although there is an extensive body of research on temperament, the mechanisms through which it influences the acquisition of the core components of emotional competence — specifically, the understanding of the mental causes of emotions — remain insufficiently elucidated. Preschool age is a critical period for the formation of a child's emotional sphere. The research problem lies in the presence of contradictory data on the connection between the properties of a preschool child's temperament and their emotional development. In particular, while some studies demonstrate a consistent negative link between negative affectivity and emotional competence, other works indicate that this link may be mediated by factors such as heightened control or the quality of parenting practices. The present study aims to identify the associations between a child’s individual typological profile and their level of Pons–Harris was used, which includes three levels of emotion understanding: the external component (recognition of emotions, external causes, desires), the mental component (beliefs, memories, hidden emotions), and the reflexive component (emotion regulation, mixed feelings, moral emotions). To assess temperament, the Children's Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (CBQ-VSF) was applied, with three main scales: activity (surgency), negative affect, and effortful control. Data were obtained from a sample of 557 mother–child dyads (child age range: 57–82 months; M = 70.26 months; SD = 3.75; 51% male). The analysis revealed that a high level of negative affectivity was a factor that impeded children’s understanding of the mental causes of emotions. Sex differences were observed: females exhibited a greater propensity for manifestations of negative affectivity and better performance in emotion recognition tasks, whereas males demonstrated a higher degree of activity (surgency). The obtained results underscore the critical importance of taking individual temperamental characteristics into account when designing psychological and educational intervention programs aimed at fostering the emotional development of preschoolers.