The stability of inhibited/uninhibited temperament from ages 3 to 11 years in mauritian children

Stability of inhibited/uninhibited temperament was assessed using 1,795 Mauritian children tested at ages 3, 8, and 11 years. Children were divided into uninhibited, middle, and inhibited groups at each age based on social behavior. Results indicated that, relative to uninhibited children (1) those inhibited at age 3 obtained larger inhibition scores at age 8 (p< .0001), (2) those inhibited at age 8 obtained larger inhibition scores at age 11 (p< .002), and (3) those remaining inhibited from ages 3 to 8 obtained larger inhibition scores at age 11 (p< .002). Relative to children who changed classification from ages 3 to 8, those remaining inhibited obtained larger inhibition scores (p< .05) and those remaining uninhibited obtained smaller inhibition scores (p< .015) at age 11. Inhibition scores tended to be higher in females by age 11. Results remained regardless of ethnicity. The results provide some support that inhibited/uninhibited temperament remains stable from ages 3 to 8 and may continue to age 11. The results suggest cross-cultural generalizability of these findings with implications regarding the development of anxiety disorders in the Mauritian population.The efforts of Cyril Dalais, Brian Bell, Athenea Chiriaca, and all the local members of the longitudinal study, the Mauritius Joint Child Health Project, are gratefully acknowledged. We are also especially thankful to Drs. Michael E. Dawson, David Walsh, and Bill McClure for their helpful comments and suggestions.The data used in this study were collected while the project was supported by the Medical Research Council (UK), the Wellcome Trust (UK), and the Mauritian government. The data were analyzed and findings written as part of the first author's dissertation work under the support of the NIMH Pre-doctoral Individual National Research Service Award and a USC Dissertation Fellowship Award.