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The difficult temperament in adolescence: Associations with substance use, family support, and problem behaviors
Author(s) -
Windle Michael
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(199103)47:2<310::aid-jclp2270470219>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - temperament , psychology , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , substance use , depressive symptoms , personality , psychiatry , anxiety , social psychology
This study investigated interrelations between the number of difficult temperament factors (e.g., arrythmicity, inflexibility, high distractibility) and substance use, perceived family support, and problem behaviors for a sample of 297 adolescents ( M age = 15.7 years). The number of adolescent difficult temperament factors was associated significantly with more childhood behavior problems (e.g., hyperactivity, conduct disordered symptoms), which suggests some continuity of disordered behavior from childhood to adolescence. Number of adolescent difficult temperament factors also was associated with a higher percentage of substance users (for cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, hard drugs), lower perceived family support, higher levels of depressive symptoms, and more delinquent activity. Number of difficult temperament factors was not associated significantly with gender or age of respondents.