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- Behavioral inhibition in childhood: European Portuguese adaptation of an observational measure (Lab-TAB)Publication . Faisca, Luis; Ferreira, Laura Inês; Fernandes, Catarina; Gagne, Jeffrey R.; Martins, Ana T.The assessment of behaviorally inhibited children is typically based on parent or teacher reports, but this approach has received criticisms, mainly for being prone to bias. Several researchers proposed the additional use of observational methods because they provide a direct and more objective description of the child's functioning in different contexts. The lack of a laboratory assessment of temperament for Portuguese children justifies the adaptation of some episodes of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) as an observational measure for behavioral inhibition. Method: In our study, we included 124 children aged between 3 and 9 years and their parents. The evaluation of child behavioral inhibition was made by parent report (Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire) and through Lab-TAB episodes. Parental variables with potential influence on parents’ reports were also collected using the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS) and the Parental Overprotection Measure (POM). Results and Discussion: The psychometric analyses provided evidence that Lab-TAB is a reliable instrument and can be incorporated in a multi-method approach to assess behavioral inhibition in studies involving Portuguese-speaking children. Moderate convergence between observational and parent report measures of behavioral inhibition was obtained. Mothers’ characteristics, as well as child age, seem to significantly affect differences between measures, being potential sources of bias in the assessment of child temperament.
- The influence of parental variables and child behavioral inhibition on social anxiety in preschool children: The moderator effects of genderPublication . Fernandes, Catarina; Martins, A.; Santa-Rita, Andreia; Faisca, LuisThe main objective of this study was to examine how parental characteristics, such as social anxiety (SA) and parental overprotection, and child's behavioral inhibition (BI) interact and contribute to the manifestation of SA symptoms in preschoolers. Parents (Mothers: n= 319; Fathers: n= 263) of children aged between 3 and 6 years answered to self-report measures of overprotection and SA and measures of SA and BI about their children. A positive moderate direct association was observed between children's BI and children's SA, independently of gender. Overprotection arises as a mediator of the effects of the parents' social anxiety on children's SA; however, this mediation depends both on the child's and parents' gender. Only mother's SA was directly related to children's SA, independently of the gender of the child. Overall, these findings extend to preschool children the previous studies that consider parents' overprotective styles and social anxiety, as well as child's BI, the main variables underlying the SA in childhood. In addition, our results highlight the importance of considering the moderator role of gender in the origin and maintenance of SA symptoms in preschoolers.