Temperament as a Risk Factor for Clinical Diagnosis During the Transition From Childhood Through Adolescence and Young Adulthood: A 16-Year Multimethod Longitudinal Study
Aug 2026· Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science· 1 citation· 66 references
Medicine
Abstract
Identifying early temperamental predictors of later psychopathology is crucial for detecting at-risk individuals and implementing targeted prevention efforts. However, there is limited research using laboratory-based observations of temperament and “gold-standard” assessments of psychiatric disorders across early adolescence and young adulthood. Using a multimethod, prospective longitudinal study (N = 291), we investigated whether temperament (i.e., behavioral inhibition [BI], exuberance) observed at 24 and 36 months predicted the likelihood of psychiatric disorders across adolescence/young adulthood. Results suggested that early childhood BI was not predictive of anxiety diagnosis over time; however, exuberance predicted attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder at ages 12, 15, and 18 years. Results add to prior work that has rarely found direct relations between early temperament and psychopathology and highlight early adolescence/young adulthood as a vulnerable time for the development of psychopathology.
Early-childhood temperament is associated with later mental health. Temperament continues to develop throughout the first years of life, and a single assessment cannot capture its trajectory. Whether departures from an individual's developmental trajectory carry psychiatric risk remains unknown. Using data from more th...
J. Kopal, N. Bakken, P. Parekh et al.· Molecular Psychiatry· 0 citations
Adolescence is a critical period of neurodevelopment during which psychopathological trajectories associated with the risk of psychosis may emerge. The construct of the At-Risk Mental State (ARMS) enables the identification of subclinical presentations preceding psychosis; however, its course and predictors in the gene...
A. Jovaní, F. Castellano-García, B. Moliner-Castellano et al.· European Child and Adolescen...· 0 citations
Background Anxiety and depression often co-occur and typically arise early in the life course. Despite the high prevalence of these conditions in low- and middle-income countries, evidence of early-life factors associated with their developmental patterns remains limited in these settings. Understanding these factors c...
L. Barrass, B. Farooq, L. Riglin et al.· medRxiv· 0 citations
Background: ADHD symptoms follow heterogeneous trajectories across childhood and adolescence, with important implications for later functioning. Early-life factors, including perinatal health, family environment, cognition, socioeconomic conditions, and community exposures, may contribute to this variability. The prese...
E. Rounds, M. Kozlowski, S. McCormack et al.· medRxiv· 0 citations
A significantly impaired neurocognitive profile in early childhood confers risk for detrimental clinical and functional outcomes in middle childhood beyond that which can be attributed to pre-existing clinical and functional states and constitutes a cross-diagnostic, neurodevelopmental risk marker in these FHR-groups.
N. Hemager, J. Jepsen, A. Greve et al.· Journal of Child Psychology...· 0 citations
Abstract Background Correct psychiatric diagnoses represent a prerequisite for the efficacy of treatment, especially during adolescence, a critical period for the onset of mental health disorders. Diagnoses can evolve over time, influenced by factors such as changes in symptoms, treatment effects, and comorbidities. Th...
Marta Magno, Donato Martella, S. Leone et al.· JCPP Advances· 0 citations
We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads.
See our Cookie Policy.
