The temperamental characteristics of Chinese babies.

This paper investigates the usefulness of Carey's Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire in the Chinese culture and uses the questionnaire to assess the temperamental characteristics of Chinese babies. The revised questionnaire was administered to the mothers of 349 4--8-year-old infants in Taipei, Taiwan. The face validity of the questionnaire was supported within the different context: the distribution of scores was normal, and the mothers had no trouble in answering the questions. While the general pattern of results was similar to those found in Carey's American sample, differences were found, which may be interpreted in terms of response biases, racial differences, or a combination of these 2 factors. The data are analyzed for possible effects of sex and socioeconomic status, and these findings are in turn compared to results of American studies. Observational studies are seen as necessary in the future to understand the nature of cultural differences in temperament. Follow-up studies will examine the different ways a given temperamental characteristic may be responded to by different cultural environments.