Premium
Québécois, Haitian, and Vietnamese Mothers' Report of Infant Temperament
Author(s) -
Pomerleau Andrée,
Sabatier Colette,
Malcuit Gérard
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1464-066X
pISSN - 0020-7594
DOI - 10.1080/002075998400222
Subject(s) - temperament , psychology , vietnamese , developmental psychology , personality , clinical psychology , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy
Research has shown different temperamental attributes in infants of various cultural origins. Some authors have suggested that these temperamental attributes might be related to biological and genetic differences. In the present study, mothers' reports of infant temperament, using the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire (Carey & McDevitt, 1978), were compared among Québécois, Haitian, and Vietnamese groups living in Montréal. Results indicated patterns of differences across groups that essentially distinguished the Québécois from the other two groups. These two groups reported more difficult temperamental characteristics in their infants. The values and caretaking practices related to the specific cultural contexts, contrasted with the values expressed through a North‐American validated questionnaire, may explain the variations in infant temperament reports. Further studies should examine more thoroughly the relation between observed infant behaviours and maternal reports.