Early temperament prospectively predicts anxiety in later childhood

Objective: To investigate the contribution of early childhood temperamental constructs corresponding to 2 subtypes of general negative emotionality - fearful distress (unadaptable temperament) and irritable distress (fussy-difficult temperament) - to later anxiety in a nationally representative sample. Method: Using multiple linear regression analyses, we tested the hypothesis that caregiver-reported child unadaptable temperament and fussy-difficult temperament scales of children aged 2 to 3 years (in 1995) would prospectively predict caregiver-reported child anxiety symptoms at ages 4 to 5, 6 to 7, 8 to 9, and 10 to 11 years, and child-reported anxiety at 10 to 11 years (controlling for sex, age, and socioeconomic status) in a nationally representative sample from Statistics Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (initial weighted n = 768 600). Results: Only fussy-difficult temperament predicted anxiety in children aged 6 to 7 years. In separate regressions, unadaptable temperament and fussy-difficult temperament each predicted anxiety at 8 to 9 years, but when both were entered simultaneously, only unadaptable temperament remained a marginal predictor. Temperament did not significantly predict caregiver- or child-reported anxiety at 10 to 11 years, suggesting that as children age, environmental factors may become more important contributors to anxiety than early temperament. Conclusion: Our results provide the first demonstration that early temperament is related to later childhood anxiety in a nationally representative sample.