Temper Tantrums in Toddlers and Preschoolers: Longitudinal Associations with Adjustment Problems.
Alithe L Van den Akker, Peter Hoffenaar, Geertjan Overbeek
PMID 35316228WHAT IT FOUND
Aggressive and self-injurious tantrum behaviors in 1- to 5-year-olds predicted both internalizing and externalizing problems one year later.
Daily tantrums were rare after age 2, but long duration predicted internalizing issues. Parents can easily report these specific behaviors to flag risk.
Key findings
01Children in the aggressive/self-injurious tantrum profile exhibited more externalizing problems one year later than children in the low-intensity profile.
02Higher tantrum frequency predicted more externalizing problems, whereas longer tantrum duration predicted internalizing problems.
03Daily tantrums were reported for 10.1% to 11.9% of 1- and 2-year-olds, but only 2.4% to 5.1% of children aged 3 to 5.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The longitudinal sample was much smaller (n = 202) than the baseline sample, which affected the stability of some results regarding internalizing problems. Parents reported both the tantrum characteristics and the adjustment problems, which may introduce mono-informant bias. No baseline measure of adjustment problems was taken, so it is unclear if tantrums were early indicators or if problems already existed. The sample lacked data on racial and ethnic background, limiting generalizability.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that daily tantrums alone are a strong indicator of clinical problems for children under 3, as they are relatively common in this age group. The specific type of behavior, particularly aggression and self-injury, is a more robust predictor of later adjustment issues than frequency alone.