Abstract

This study examined the role of child temperament in the relationship between parental risk status and cognitive competence. Three main questions were addressed: (1) Does parental risk status predict child temperament? (2) Does child temperament act as a mediating variable between parental risk status and cognitive functioning? Importantly, does temperament operate as a risk or protective factor? and (3) What is the nature of the relationship between child temperament and cognitive functioning? These questions were explored within a subsample of high-risk mothers and their infant and preschool-age offspring from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. This longitudinal investigation, which started in 1977, identified lower SES individuals as being highly aggressive and/or withdrawn in childhood. Many of these individuals now have children of their own, which provides a unique opportunity to investigate the trajectories of risk and resilience across generations. Contrary to expectations, parental risk status was not a significant predictor of child temperament in either infants or preschoolers. In the infant subsample, child temperament operated as a risk factor for lower cognitive performance and worked directly to influence IQ, even after controlling for current psychosocial variables. In the preschool subsample, child temperament operated indirectly, through the home environment and parental social support, in predicting children's intelligence scores. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for taking a developmental approach when studying child outcomes, and the processes by which children's cognitive competence is placed at risk.