Abstract:

Behavioral inhibition is one of the most important dimensions of temperament that has a pervasive and long-term impact on individual personality and social functioning. The present study examined the stability of behavioral inhibition, based on laboratory observations, in a sample of children in China from two to seven years of age.
The participants in the initial study included 124 children at two years. Among them, 103 participated in a follow up study at four years, and 100 at seven years. There were 113 children who took part in the laboratory observation at least once at 2, 4 and 7 years, and the complete longitudinal sample consisted of 89 children.
The results indicated that the stability of behavioral inhibition of Chinese children from 2 to 7 years was generally weak. From 2 to 7 years, 31.5% (28) of the children were classified as the stable group and 68.5% (61) as the unstable group. With the increase of age from 2 to 7 years, there was a tendency for children in the extremely inhibited and uninhibited groups to change toward the middle group. However, from 2 to 4 years, behavioral inhibition in the extreme groups was more stable than that in the middle group. There was no sex difference in the behavioral inhibition from 2 to 7 years. The results might be related to the influence of the macro-level social and cultural changes in the society

Key words: laboratory observation, stability of behavioral inhibition, developmental patterns, sex differences