Activity Level in Young Children: Cross-Age Stability, Situational Influences, Correlates With Temperament, and the Perception of Problem Behaviors

Children's activity level is commonly thought to be a stable characteristic, but considerable evidence exists in the literature for situational influences. Two studies are reported in this paper. First, preschool children who had been observed when they were toddlers participated in a study to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 1994-07, Vol.40 (3), p.378-398
Main Authors: Fagot, Beverly I., O'Brien, Marion
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities
Age Differences
Behavior Problems
Behavior Rating Scales
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child development
Child psychology
Children
Context Effect
Developmental psychology
Early Childhood Education
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Motor activity
Parents
Personality
Physical Activity Level
Preschool Children
Preschool education
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
RESEARCH REPORTS
Sex Differences
Sex linked differences
Situation
Temperament
Test Reliability
Toddlers
Toys
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Summary:Children's activity level is commonly thought to be a stable characteristic, but considerable evidence exists in the literature for situational influences. Two studies are reported in this paper. First, preschool children who had been observed when they were toddlers participated in a study to evaluate the consistency of their motor activity level over time and across situations and to evaluate associations between high levels of motor activity and other dimensions of temperament. Second, the relations among several measures of activity level and ratings of problem behavior in toddler-age boys and girls were examined. Activity level was stable when measured by the same methods in the same situation, but not across methods or across situations. Girls, but not boys, rated high on activity level received positive ratings on temperament variables. Boys, but not girls, rated high on activity level were rated by parents and teachers as showing more problem behaviors.
ISSN:0272-930X
1535-0266