Abstract 1501

Background: Investigators have proposed that temperament is the product of a complex interaction between the child, the family, and the extra-familial environment. One of the goals of temperament research has been to identify more specifically how the noted interaction produces the entire span of temperament expression that ranges from easy to difficult. This current research was designed as an examination of whether differing maternal and/or infant perinatal histories were related to temperament expression at later ages in childhood. Our objective was to examine the temperament expression of children who 1) had different health statuses perinatally and 2) whose mothers had different health/stress statuses during the perinatal period. Methods: Using the Toddler Temperament Questionnaire or the Behavioral Style Questionnaire, 46 mothers rated the temperament of their children between the ages of 17 months and 6 years. The 46 mother/child pairs were partitioned by way of the following groups: Group 1 (n=12): Children born prematurely with mothers in good health; Group 2 (n=14): Children born prematurely with mothers who were critically ill with HELLP Syndrome; Group 3 (n=10): Children born at or near term who were critically ill with pulmonary hypertension and whose mothers were in good health; Group 4 (n=10): Well children born at or near term with mothers in good health. Results for the 5 factor scores (that are used to determine the easy/difficult profile rating) and the easy/difficult profile rating were analyzed by ANOVA with group status as the independent variable. Results: There were no significant differences among the 4 groups of children for any of the 5 factor scores or for the easy-difficult profile rating. Contrary to our expectations, maternal perceptions of temperament in children were unrelated to maternal health/illness and/or infant health/illness during the perinatal period. Varying stressors in the current research, whether related to mother and/or infant, were not significant factors that were associated with temperament ratings at later ages. Conclusions: Our findings may be potentially useful in the provision of anticipatory temperament guidance to families who have sustained illnesses during the perinatal period.