TY - JOUR
T1 - Early environment and neurobehavioral development predict adult temperament clusters
AU - Congdon, Eliza
AU - Service, Susan
AU - Wessman, Jaana
AU - Seppänen, Jouni K.
AU - Schönauer, Stefan
AU - Miettunen, Jouko
AU - Turunen, Hannu
AU - Koiranen, Markku
AU - Joukamaa, Matti
AU - Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta
AU - Peltonen, Leena
AU - Veijola, Juha
AU - Mannila, Heikki
AU - Paunio, Tiina
AU - Freimer, Nelson B.
PY - 2012/7/18
Y1 - 2012/7/18
N2 - Background: Investigation of the environmental influences on human behavioral phenotypes is important for our understanding of the causation of psychiatric disorders. However, there are complexities associated with the assessment of environmental influences on behavior. Methods/Principal Findings: We conducted a series of analyses using a prospective, longitudinal study of a nationally representative birth cohort from Finland (the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort). Participants included a total of 3,761 male and female cohort members who were living in Finland at the age of 16 years and who had complete temperament scores. Our initial analyses (Wessman et al., in press) provide evidence in support of four stable and robust temperament clusters. Using these temperament clusters, as well as independent temperament dimensions for comparison, we conducted a data-driven analysis to assess the influence of a broad set of life course measures, assessed pre-natally, in infancy, and during adolescence, on adult temperament. Results: Measures of early environment, neurobehavioral development, and adolescent behavior significantly predict adult temperament, classified by both cluster membership and temperament dimensions. Specifically, our results suggest that a relatively consistent set of life course measures are associated with adult temperament profiles, including maternal education, characteristics of the family's location and residence, adolescent academic performance, and adolescent smoking. Conclusions: Our finding that a consistent set of life course measures predict temperament clusters indicate that these clusters represent distinct developmental temperament trajectories and that information about a subset of life course measures has implications for adult health outcomes.
AB - Background: Investigation of the environmental influences on human behavioral phenotypes is important for our understanding of the causation of psychiatric disorders. However, there are complexities associated with the assessment of environmental influences on behavior. Methods/Principal Findings: We conducted a series of analyses using a prospective, longitudinal study of a nationally representative birth cohort from Finland (the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort). Participants included a total of 3,761 male and female cohort members who were living in Finland at the age of 16 years and who had complete temperament scores. Our initial analyses (Wessman et al., in press) provide evidence in support of four stable and robust temperament clusters. Using these temperament clusters, as well as independent temperament dimensions for comparison, we conducted a data-driven analysis to assess the influence of a broad set of life course measures, assessed pre-natally, in infancy, and during adolescence, on adult temperament. Results: Measures of early environment, neurobehavioral development, and adolescent behavior significantly predict adult temperament, classified by both cluster membership and temperament dimensions. Specifically, our results suggest that a relatively consistent set of life course measures are associated with adult temperament profiles, including maternal education, characteristics of the family's location and residence, adolescent academic performance, and adolescent smoking. Conclusions: Our finding that a consistent set of life course measures predict temperament clusters indicate that these clusters represent distinct developmental temperament trajectories and that information about a subset of life course measures has implications for adult health outcomes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84864023988&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0038065
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0038065
M3 - Article
C2 - 22815688
AN - SCOPUS:84864023988
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 7
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 7
M1 - e38065
ER -