The Study Goals

“Temperament” refers to patterns of moods and emotional reactions that are relatively consistent across situations and over time, and is one of the major building blocks of later personality. Parents often recognize that their children have very distinctive temperaments from a very early age. The goal of the Stony Brook Temperament Study is to learn more about the development of children's temperament and personality. We are seeking to answer questions like:

• How similar are children's temperaments to their parents' personalities?
• How do families influence children's temperament and personality?
• How much do children's personalities change over time and what factors are related to these changes?
• How do children's personalities affect their development in other areas, such as their emotional and behavioral adjustment, their relationships with others, their school achievement, and how they cope with new challenges and demands as they grow?

The Stony Brook Temperament Study is directed by Dr. Daniel Klein, who is a Professor of Psychology at Stony Brook University. It is supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Almost 600 families with three-year old children from Suffolk County participated in the initial part of the study. These families, along with 50 additional families, were invited to participate in the second phase of the study, when the children were about six years old. We are currently assessing the children again, at approximately age 9. We hope to be able to continue the project and study the children every few years until they are young adults.