Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
BMC Psychol. 2014 Dec 3;2(1):51. doi: 10.1186/s40359-014-0051-2. eCollection 2014.
Tympanic membrane temperature (TMT) has been proposed as an indicator of cerebral activation and TMT asymmetry may indicate lateralization, which has been associated with specific (problem) behaviors in children and adults. The current study explored the relations between pre-adoption living arrangements, TMT, and behavior and sleep problems in a sample of adopted toddlers.
Ninety-two families who had adopted a Chinese girl who had previously been placed in an institution or foster care reported on behavior problems using the Child Behavior Checklist and TMT two months (Time 1) and six months (Time 2) after adoption.
Structural equation modeling revealed that institutionalized children had significantly higher left than right TMTs compared with foster care children at Time 2. A higher left than right TMT was associated with increased sleep problems and total behavior problems at Time 1, but not at Time 2.
Our findings with regard to pre-adoption living arrangements, TMT asymmetry, and sleep problems suggest that TMT is sensitive to early environmental influences and may be a biological marker of vulnerability to the development of sleep problems in children from adverse backgrounds.
鼓室温度（TMT）已被提出作为大脑激活的指标，TMT 不对称可能表明偏侧性，这与儿童和成人的特定（问题）行为有关。本研究探讨了领养前的生活安排、TMT 与行为和睡眠问题之间的关系，该研究的样本为被领养的幼儿。
92 个家庭收养了一个曾被安置在机构或寄养家庭的中国女孩，他们在收养后两个月（时间 1）和六个月（时间 2）使用儿童行为检查表和 TMT 报告了行为问题。
结构方程模型显示，与寄养儿童相比，在时间 2 时，机构儿童的左 TMT 明显高于右 TMT。左 TMT 高于右 TMT 与时间 1 的睡眠问题和总行为问题增加有关，但与时间 2 无关。
我们关于领养前的生活安排、TMT 不对称和睡眠问题的研究结果表明，TMT 对早期环境影响敏感，可能是易受不利背景下儿童睡眠问题发展影响的生物标志物。
