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What are the basic dimensions of temperament? How does temperament influence children's relationships to their physical and social worlds--and their behavior and adjustment across the lifespan? What are its biological underpinnings? From preeminent researcher Mary Rothbart, this work comprehensively examines the role of temperament in the development of personality and psychopathology. In a direct and readable style, Rothbart combines theory and research with everyday observations and clinical examples. She offers new insights on'difficult'children and reviews intervention programs that address temperamental factors in childhood problems. Winner--Eleanor Maccoby Book Award, American Psychological Association Division 7 (Developmental Psychology)

This book reports the first attempt in the child development literature to examine the structure of early personality based on parents'free-descriptions of their children. It is an important piece of research because of its cross-national focus on personality development. The authors present a data set that reveals considerable consistency in the parental descriptions of child personality in both western and nonwestern countries. This consistency supports the cultural universality of the'Big Five'personality factors. The authors'findings lay the foundation for an examination of how these major dimensions of childhood personality structure evolve into adult personality structure.