Can Preschool Age Children Be Grouped By Temperament? A Quantitative Analysis Of Survey Data

Temperament is a widely researched construct and has significant influence in people’s lives. Still, theorists differ on their approaches to and perspectives on this topic. In their famous New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS), Thomas, Chess, and Birch (1968) gathered information through parent interviews and observations of 136 children. These investigators categorized children as easy, difficult, or slow to warm up based on the temperament characteristics reported in their study. Other researchers have found temperament profiles in children that are similar but not completely consistent with those of Thomas and colleagues. The purpose of the current study is to corroborate and extend the research that places children into groups based on similarity of temperament. Following previous research, I hypothesized that there would be five groups of children. A cluster analysis was used to identify four groups that converge with the findings in previous research—difficult, dilligent, interested, and moderate groups of children—and one group that diverges from previous studies—a disengaged group.