Identifying antenatal and post-natal factors that influence and moderate the development of infant and early child temperament in a large ethnically diverse cohort

人类在很早的时候就有不同的行为。有些婴儿在生活中比其他婴儿更挣扎，表现出“难相处”的气质，比如哭闹、哭闹或睡眠问题。研究表明，这些婴儿的父母表现出较低的依恋和育儿信心，并且更频繁地遭受愤怒和抑郁。除了这些直接影响外，婴儿气质还与儿童后期和成年期的问题行为有关。健康和疾病的发育起源理论认为，怀孕前和怀孕期间的状况会强烈影响后代的身心健康。研究旨在确定婴儿气质差异的起源，并确定了一些可能与之相关的因素。虽然有强有力的证据表明怀孕期间母亲的压力和焦虑会产生影响，但其他因素的作用尚不清楚。其中包括产妇抑郁、饮酒和吸毒或吸烟（特别是低剂量）、母亲的饮食和分娩期间的状况。本研究项目的主要目标是确定影响或调节婴幼儿气质的因素，特别关注自我调节。次要目标是确定与9个月至4.5岁之间气质轨迹相关的因素，种族之间可能存在的差异以及累积风险的影响。该项目的数据来自新西兰成长队列，该队列收集了2009/10年度约6800名怀孕期间儿童的纵向数据。主要观察指标：9月龄时采用母亲报告法，采用婴儿行为极简问卷（IBQ-R-VSF）评估婴儿气质；4.5岁时采用儿童行为极简问卷（CBQ-VSF）评估儿童气质。设计CBQ-VSF与IBQ-R-VSF相对应。研究人员通过与母亲面对面的访谈收集信息，并在孩子9个月、2岁和4.5岁时进行访谈。这包括母亲的身心健康、吸烟、饮酒和吸毒、怀孕期间的营养、怀孕前和怀孕期间的身体活动、社会经济地位、种族和家庭支持。可比较的资料也可从合作伙伴处获得。有关于胎次、孕吐、出生胎龄和出生体重以及分娩并发症的信息。为了回答第一个研究问题，将使用多变量线性回归模型来确定影响或调节婴儿气质的因素，同时调整可能的混杂因素。重要的是要确定(i)可以改变的因素，因此可以受到父母的影响；（ii）不可改变的因素，但可以通知妇科医生和助产士，以便他们能够更好地为那些更有可能有一个要求高、监管少的孩子的父母做好准备。

Humans differ in behavior from very early on. Some infants struggle with life more than others and show ‘difficult’ temperament, such as fuzzing, crying, or sleeping problems. Studies have shown that parents of such infants show lower attachment and parenting confidence and suffer from anger and depression more frequently. Apart from those direct effects, infant temperament relates to problematic behavior in later childhood and adulthood. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory postulates that conditions before and during pregnancy strongly influence the physical and psychological wellbeing of the offspring.Research has aimed to determine the origins of differences in infant temperament and has identified a number of factors that may be associated. While there is strong evidence for an effect of maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy, the role of other factors is less clear. Among them are maternal depression, alcohol and drug consumption or smoking, especially in lower doses, mother’s diet, and conditions during delivery.It is the main objective of this research project to identify factors that influence or moderate infant and child temperament, with a special focus on self-regulation. Secondary objectives are the identification of factors that are related to temperament trajectories between 9 months and 4.5 years, possible differences between ethnic groups, and the effect of cumulative risk.Data for the project come from the Growing Up in New Zealand Cohort, which captures longitudinal data of about 6,800 children recruited during pregnancy in 2009/10. The main outcome infant temperament was assessed by mother report with the infant behavior questionnaire revised very short form (IBQ-R-VSF) when the children were nine months old, and child temperament at age 4.5 years using the child behavior questionnaire very short form (CBQ-VSF). The CBQ-VSF was designed to correspond to the IBQ-R-VSF.Information was collected via face-to-face interviews with the mothers antenatally and when the children were nine months, two years, and 4.5 years old. This includes mother’s mental and physical health, smoking, alcohol and drug consumption, nutrition during pregnancy, physical activity before and during pregnancy, socio-economic status, ethnicity, and family support. Comparable information is also available from the partners. There is information on parity, morning sickness, gestational age at birth and birth weight, and complications during delivery. For answering the first research questions, multivariable linear regression models will be used to identify factors that have an effect on or mediate infant temperament, while adjusting for possible confounders.It is important to identify factors that (i) are modifiable and can thus be influenced by parents or (ii) that are non-modifiable but can inform gynecologists and midwifes, so they can better prepare parents who are more likely to have a demanding and less regulated child.