Young Children’s Temperament and Mother’s Parenting Profile Analysis: The Relevance of Executive Function

유아의 기질과 어머니 양육행동 프로파일 분석: 실행기능과의 관련성

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to identify young children’s temperaments and their mothers’ corresponding parenting behavior profiles by applying latent profile analysis, and to explore how they relate to young children’s executive functions in each latent profile.MethodsParticipants included 294 children (146 boys and 148 girls) aged 3–5 years and their mothers. A scale of child temperament: EAS (20 questions), a scale of mother's parenting (34 questions), and a scale of executive functions: brief-p (43 questions) were used.ResultsYoung children’s temperaments and their mothers’ parenting behavior profiles were classified into three groups. They were: ‘negative emotionality child + inconsistent parenting (40%)’, ‘shy child + authoritative parenting (14%)’, and ‘sociable child + authoritative parenting (46%)’. As per the results of the three-step approach, there were significant differences in the executive functions (inhibition, shifting, and working memory) according to the three profiles.ConclusionThis study is meaningful because it identified various aspects of a young child’s temperament with respect to his/her mother’s parenting. Identifying differences in the executive functions of young children will also help provide implications for the necessary preventative involvement of young child with various temperament characteristics and mothers.