Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Role of Temperament and Personality in Problem Behaviors of Children with ADHD

  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study describes temperament, personality, and problem behaviors in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) aged 6 to 14 years. It targets differences between an ADHD sample (N = 54; 43 boys) and a large community sample (N = 465; 393 boys) in means and variances, psychometric properties, and covariation between traits and internalizing and externalizing problems. Parents rated their children on Buss and Plomin’s and Rothbart’s temperament models, a child-oriented five-factor personality model and also on problem behavior. Relative to the comparison group, children with ADHD presented with a distinct trait profile exhibiting lower means on Effortful Control, Conscientiousness, Benevolence and Emotional Stability, higher means on Emotionality, Activity, and Negative Affect, but similar levels of Surgency, Shyness, and Extraversion. Striking similarities in variances, reliabilities and, in particular, of the covariation between trait and maladjustment variables corroborate the spectrum hypothesis and suggest that comparable processes regulate problem behavior in children with and without ADHD.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. To reduce questionnaire load and informant bias in the comparison group, the EAS temperament measure and the HiPIC personality questionnaire were always completed by two different caregivers while the Rothbart temperament and the HiPIC personality instrument were independently completed by two different caregivers in 50% of the cases (N = 250). For the other 50% of the data, a single informant completed both the Rothbart and the HiPIC measure (25% mothers, 25% fathers). Analyses of variance revealed no significant mean differences (p < 0.05) between mothers and fathers for HiPIC-personality. Three significant temperament differences were registered: fathers rated their child higher on EAS Emotionality (F(1, 498) = 18.01, p < 0.001), Rothbart Negative Affect (F(1, 498) = 14.59, p < 0.001) and also on EAS Activity (F(1, 498) = 5.62, p < 0.05).

  2. Although the EATQ-R was originally developed for children aged 8 and beyond, we also administered this measure to parents of children below age 8 (15% of the sample) because we could not identify an adequate Flemish measure to assess psychobiological temperament for this age group. In both the ADHD and comparison sample, acceptable reliabilities are found for the three Rothbart domains in children below age 8, hence validating post hoc the choice of this measure.

  3. Reports of the facet analyses are available upon request from the first author.

  4. The Shyness-by-group interaction predicting externalizing problems is also documented by two subsequent HMRA’s including the lower-order Shyness scale of the EATQ-R and the HiPIC, substantiating that higher scores on all included Shyness-scales predict more externalizing problems in children with ADHD but not in the comparison group.

References

  • Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, L., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association [APA]. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., rev.). Washington, DC: DSM-IV-TR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anckarsater, H., Stahlberg, O., Larson, T., Hakansson, C., Jutblad, S. B., Niklasson, L., et al. (2006). The impact of ADHD and autism spectrum disorders on temperament, character, and personality development. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1239–1244.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boer, F., & Westenberg, P. M. (1994). The factor structure of the Buss and Plomin EAS Temperament Survey (parental ratings) in a Dutch Sample of elementary-school-children. Journal of Personality Assessment, 62, 537–551.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Braet, C., Callens, J., Schittekatte, M., Soyez, V., & Roeyers, H. (2010). Assessing emotional and behavioural problems with the Child Behavior Checklist: exploring the relevance of adjusting the norms for the Flanders community.

  • Buss, A. H., & Plomin, R. (1984). Temperament: Early developing personality traits. Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bussing, R., Gary, F. A., Mason, D. M., Leon, C. E., Sinha, K., & Garvan, C. W. (2003). Child temperament, ADHD, and caregiver strain: exploring relationships in an epidemiological sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 184–192.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D. M., & Rothbart, M. K. (1992). Development and validation of an early adolescent temperament measure. Journal of Early Adolescence, 12, 153–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Block, J., Block, J. H., Klopp, B., Lynam, D., Moffitt, T. E., et al. (1992). A “common-language” version of the California Child Q-set for personality assessment. Psychological Assessment, 4, 512–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Roberts, B. W., & Shiner, R. L. (2005). Personality development: stability and change. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 453–484.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., & Shiner, R. L. (2006). Personality development. In W. Damon, R. Lerner, & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 300–364). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castellanos, F. X. (2009). Report of the DSM-V ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Disorder Work Group: American Psychiatric Association.

  • Cukrowicz, K. C., Taylor, J., Schatschneider, C., & Iacono, W. G. (2006). Personality differences in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and controls. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 151–159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Pauw, S. S. W., & Mervielde, I. (2010). Temperament, personality and developmental psychopathology: a review based on the conceptual dimensions underlying childhood traits. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 41, 313–329.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Pauw, S. S. W., Mervielde, I., & Van Leeuwen, K. G. (2009). How are traits related to problem behavior in preschoolers? Similarities and contrasts between temperament and personality. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37, 309–325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Pauw, S. S. W., Mervielde, I., Van Leeuwen, K. G., & De Clercq, B. J. (2010). How temperament and personality contribute to the maladjustment of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. doi:10.1007/s10803-10010-11043-10806.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Haugen, R., Spinrad, T. L., Hofer, C., Chassin, L., Zhou, Q., et al. (2010). Relations of temperament to maladjustment and ego resiliency in at-risk children. Social Development, 19, 577–600.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, L. K., & Rothbart, M. K. (2001). Revision of the early adolescent temperament questionnaire. Paper presented at the 2001 Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis.

  • Evans, D. E., & Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Developing a model for adult temperament. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 868–888.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, X. T., & Thompson, B. (2001). Confidence intervals about score reliability coefficients, please: an EPM guidelines editorial. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 61, 517–531.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faraone, S. V., Kunwar, A., Adamson, J., & Biederman, J. (2009). Personality traits among ADHD adults: implications of late-onset and subthreshold diagnoses. Psychological Medicine, 39, 685–693.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Finzi-Dottan, R., Manor, I., & Tyano, S. (2006). ADHD, temperament, and parental style as predictors of the child’s attachment patterns. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 37, 103–114.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gjone, H., & Stevenson, J. (1997). A longitudinal twin study of temperament and behavior problems: common genetic or environmental influences? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1448–1456.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hartman, C. A. (2000). Dutch translation of the early adolescent temperament questionnaire. The Netherlands: Internal rapport, Department of Psychiatry, University of Groningen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haslam, N., Williams, B., Prior, M., Haslam, R., Graetz, B., & Sawyer, M. (2006). The latent structure of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a taxometric analysis. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 639–647.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, R. F., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G. (2001). The higher-order structure of common DSM mental disorders: internalization, externalization, and their connections to personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 1245–1259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martel, M. M. (2009). Research Review: a new perspective on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: emotion dysregulation and trait models. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 1042–1051.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martel, M. M., & Nigg, J. T. (2006). Child ADHD and personality/temperament traits of reactive and effortful control, resiliency, and emotionality. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 1175–1183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martel, M. M., Nigg, J. T., & Lucas, R. E. (2008). Trait mechanisms in youth with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 895–913.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mervielde, I., De Clercq, B., De Fruyt, F., & Van Leeuwen, K. (2005). Temperament, personality, and developmental psychopathology as childhood antecedents of personality disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 19, 171–201.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mervielde, I., & De Fruyt, F. (2002). Assessing children’s traits with the Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children. In B. De Raad & M. Perugini (Eds.), Big Five assessment (pp. 129–146). Seattle: Hogrefe & Huber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, C. J., Miller, S. R., Newcorn, J. H., & Halperin, J. M. (2008). Personality characteristics associated with persistent ADHD in late adolescence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 165–173.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muris, P., & Meesters, C. (2009). Reactive and regulative temperament in youths: psychometric evaluation of the early adolescent temperament questionnaire-revised. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 7–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nigg, J. T. (2006). Temperament and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 395–422.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nigg, J. T., Goldsmith, H. H., & Sachek, J. (2004). Temperament and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: the development of a multiple pathway model. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 42–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nigg, J. T., John, O. P., Blaskey, L. G., Huang-Pollock, C. L., Willcutt, E. G., Hinshaw, S. P., et al. (2002). Big five dimensions and ADHD symptoms: links between personality traits and clinical symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 451–469.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, B. P. (2002). The search for dimensional structure differences between normality and abnormality: a statistical review of published data on personality and psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 962–982.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oldehinkel, A. J., Hartman, C. A., De Winter, A. F., Veenstra, R., & Ormel, J. (2004). Temperament profiles associated with internalizing and externalizing problems in preadolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 421–440.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oosterlaan, J., Scheres, A., Antrop, I., Roeyers, H., & Sergeant, J. A. (2000). Dutch manual for the disruptive behavior disorder rating scale. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelham, W. E., Gnagy, E. M., Greenslade, K. E., & Milich, R. (1992). Teacher ratings of DSM-III-R symptoms for the disruptive behavior disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 210–218.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfiffner, L. J., & McBurnett, K. (1997). Social skills training with parent generalization: treatment effects for children with attention deficit disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 749–757.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, S. P., Ellis, L. K., & Rothbart, M. K. (2001). The structure of temperament from infancy through adolescence. In A. Eliasz & A. Angleitner (Eds.), Advances and proceedings in research on temperament (pp. 165–182). Germany: Pabst Scientist.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rettew, D. C., Copeland, W., Stanger, C., & Hudziak, J. J. (2004). Associations between temperament and DSM-IV externalizing disorders in children and adolescents. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 25, 383–391.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rettew, D. C., & McKee, L. (2005). Temperament and its role in developmental psychopathology. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 13, 14–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Temperament, development, and personality. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 207–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., & Bates, J. E. (2006). Temperament. In W. Damon, R. Lerner, & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 99–166). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheeber, L. B., & Johnson, J. H. (1994). Evaluation of a temperament-focused, parent-training program. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23, 249–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiner, R., & Caspi, A. (2003). Personality differences in childhood and adolescence: measurement, development, and consequences. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 44, 2–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tackett, J. L. (2006). Evaluating models of the personality-psychopathology relationship in children and adolescents. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 584–599.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tellegen, A. (2000). Manual for the multidimensional personality questionnaire. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Leeuwen, K. G., Mervielde, I., De Clercq, B. J., & De Fruyt, F. (2007). Extending the spectrum idea: child personality, parenting and psychopathology. European Journal of Personality, 21, 63–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhulst, F. C., & Van der Ende, J. (2001). Manual for the Dutch version of the CBCL 6/18. Rotterdam: Erasmus University, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, J. D. (1999). Personality, temperament and ADHD: a review of the literature. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 589–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilens, T. E., Biederman, J., & Spencer, T. J. (2002). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder across the lifespan. Annual Review of Medicine, 53, 113–131.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Sarah S. W. De Pauw & Ivan Mervielde

Authors
  1. Sarah S. W. De Pauw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ivan Mervielde
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah S. W. De Pauw.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

De Pauw, S.S.W., Mervielde, I. The Role of Temperament and Personality in Problem Behaviors of Children with ADHD. J Abnorm Child Psychol 39, 277–291 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9459-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9459-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation