Temperament and Child Development in Context

"Children's temperament is a central individual characteristic that has significant implications for children's social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive and health outcomes, directly and indirectly through its evocative and moderating effects on other social and contextual influences. Accounting for these contextual influences is critical to articulating the role of temperament in children's development. This Element defines temperament, describes its roots in neurobiological systems and its relevance to children's developmental outcomes, with a focus on understanding the influence of temperament in children's social and environmental contexts. The Element covers key developmental periods, situating temperament's contribution to children's development in complex and changing processes and contexts from infancy through adolescence. The Element concludes underscoring the value of integrating contextual, relational, and dynamic systems approaches and points to future directions in temperament research and application"--