Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

445

doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2006.00790.x

pp
Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKJIRJournal of Intellectual Disability Research-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 6445456Original ArticleTemperament

and social behaviour in childrenE. Zion & V. B. Jenvey

Temperament and social behaviour at home and school

among typically developing children and children with
an intellectually disability
E. Zion & V. B. Jenvey
School of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Abstract
Background There has been limited research on
differences in temperament between typically developing children and children with an intellectual disability (ID). Individual differences have generally
been neglected in previous investigations of children
with an ID. The present research investigated differences in temperament and social behaviour between
typically developing children and children with an
ID, in both home and school settings.
Methods Participants were children
(M = . years, SD = .) from both regular and
special education schools. Temperament was measured using the Emotionality, Activity, Sociability
(EAS) Temperament Survey for Children (parental
and teacher ratings), while social behaviour was
measured using the School Social Behaviour Scales,
Second Edition (SSBS-) and the Home and
Community Social Behaviour Scales (HCSBS).

Correspondence: Dr Efrat Zion, Department of Psychology,

Building , Clayton Campus, Monash University, Victoria ,
Australia (e-mail: efrat.zion@nh.org.au).

Results There were minimal significant differences

in temperament between the regular and special education groups. Children who attended regular schools
had a significantly higher level of social competence
and significantly lower level of antisocial behaviour
both at home and school, when compared with children who attended special schools.
Conclusions The difference in social behaviour
between children attending regular and special
schools was attributed to the difference in intellectual
ability of the two groups, as well as contextual influences of regular or special school environments.
Keywords home, intellectual disability, school,
social behaviour, temperament, typical development

Introduction
Historically, an association has been made between
intellectual functioning and social skills. Individuals
with an intellectual disability (ID), because of their
delayed intellectual development, have difficulties
adapting to the social environment of their peers
(Tredgold ). Deficits in knowledge and reasoning skills, manifested in low IQ scores, interfere with
social development by delaying the development of
positive social skills, which, in turn, leads to social

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

446
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

withdrawal and poor peer relationships (Guralnick &

Groom ). On the other hand, intellectual ability
has been found to promote the development of social
competence (Green et al. ). Social skill deficits
of children with an ID may be attributed to their
difficulties in recognizing emotions, responding to
others emotions, and in prosocial behaviours, when
compared with typically developing children (see
Kasari & Bauminger ).
Temperament has also been associated with the
social behaviour of children (see Sanson et al. ,
). There has been limited research on temperament characteristics of children with an ID. There
is a need to investigate this potential association,
because information on childrens temperament provides vital information in understanding their social
behaviour. Additionally, temperament has rarely been
studied in middle childhood, as most research in this
area has focused on infants and toddlers, yet temperament is more stable by primary (elementary)school-age (Martin ) but there is limited information on the contribution of temperament to social
behaviour in this age group.
Another factor that has been found to affect childrens social skilfulness and temperament is the type
of school that they attend. It has been proposed that,
when children with severe ID are in special education
settings with peers who have a similar disability, the
nature of the childrens disabilities limits their opportunities for peer interactions (Diamond ). In
contrast, in earlier research, it was argued that when
children with an ID attend special education settings,
it led to better social adjustment (Ottenbacher &
Cooper ).
Additionally, temperament dimensions may
present differently in different contexts as individual
differences in temperament lead to different interactions within different environments (Prior ;
Sanson & Rothbart ). Childrens temperament
has also been shown to have reciprocal effects on
the behaviour of those with whom children interact
(Bates a). Hence, the influence of temperament
can be characterized as bidirectional.

deficits in other areas important for social development. These areas of social development include
communication skills and social information processing, and these deficits lead to difficulties in using
appropriate interaction strategies when in the company of others. The social development of children
with an ID is particularly important during the school
years, because they spend more time with peers
(Jacobs et al. ).
Children with an ID often have been found to
display high rates of antisocial behaviour (Dunlap
et al. ; Einfeld & Tonge ; Adams & Allen
). Further, children with low cognitive ability
and inattentiveness had difficulties with social behaviour; had deficits in prosocial skills (as rated by their
teachers), and displayed aggression (as rated by their
teachers), characteristics that placed them at risk for
social maladjustment and poor peer relationships
(Bellanti & Bierman ). Low cognitive ability,
particularly low verbal ability, was found to be a risk
factor for conduct disorder in boys, as rated by parents and teachers (Lahey et al. ). Behaviour
problems are more highly correlated with cognitive
deficits when teacher ratings of behaviour are used
than when parent ratings are used (Szatmari et al.
).
Pre-school children with cognitive delays were
found to have significant problems in their ability to
establish and develop relationships and form friendships with other children (Guralnick ). Compared with typically developing peers, pre-school
children with mild developmental delays display
lower levels of sustained socially interactive peer play
and higher levels of solitary play (Kopp et al. ),
and more negativity and discontent during peer interactions (Guralnick et al. ). Difficulties of children with developmental delays with peer relations
have been found to persist throughout development,
even after controlling for their developmental level,
indicating that children with an ID display enduring
patterns of peer-related social competence difficulties
(Guralnick ).

Social skills of children with an intellectual disability

Influence of school type (regular vs. special school)

on social behaviour

Guralnick () proposed that children with mild

ID have difficulties interacting with peers, as they
have deficits in cognitive skills that are associated with

Differences have been observed in childrens social

skills needed for getting along with peers, depending
on whether they attend a regular school or special

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

447
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

school. However, there have been conflicting findings

in relation to the influence of school type on social
behaviour. More research is required to establish the
nature and extent of the impact of school type on
childrens social behaviour.
Diamond () has proposed that when children
with severe ID attend special education settings
with peers who also have severe ID, the nature of
childrens disabilities limit their opportunities for
peer interactions. Consequently, there has been an
increased focus on mainstreaming children with an
ID into regular school. Mainstreaming, in part, is
based on the assumption that physical proximity
between children with an ID and typically developing
peers will increase social interaction (Peterson &
Haralick ), and consequently should increase the
modelling of socially competent behaviour (Mercer
& Algozzine ) and acceptance of children with
an ID by peers (Birch ). Social interaction with
typically developing peers has been found to have a
positive effect on the social development of children
with an ID (Halvorsen & Sailor ).
A review of educational placement of children with
a disability concluded that, when children with disabilities attend regular school settings, as opposed to
special education settings, their levels of social interactions increase (Buysse & Bailey ). Subsequently, these findings were confirmed empirically in
a study by Guralnick et al. (), in which children
with and without developmental delays in mainstreamed playgroup settings showed more frequent
peer interactions. These findings were attributed to
the social demands and higher interaction levels of
the non-delayed children (Guralnick et al. ).
However, it should be noted that the children with
developmental delays were neither fully accepted nor
socially integrated with their peers (Guralnick et al.
).
Not all children with an ID who interact with typically developing peers will develop more effective
social skills. Other researchers (see Freeman & Alkin
; for example) have concluded that children with
ID in regular schools were less socially accepted and
less socially competent than typically developing children, perhaps resulting from differences in social
behaviour, particularly disruptiveness of children
with an ID (Freeman & Alkin ). Nevertheless,
children with an ID who attended full-time regular
schools were found to be more socially competent

and accepted than those who attended regular

schools part-time (see Freeman & Alkin ).
Fourth- to sixth-grade children with mild disabilities, who spent at least % of their time in mainstream classrooms, were more likely to be socially
isolated and antisocial than children without a disability (Pearl et al. ). It seems that children with
mild disabilities have poorer social skills than children
without a disability, even when they are integrated
into regular schools. In another study with mainstreamed students with mild ID, these children were
rated by their teachers as less friendly and cooperative, withdrawn and more likely to avoid activities but
there were no differences in their level of aggression
compared with students without a disability (Taylor
et al. ).
When children with an ID attend special education
settings, it leads to better social adjustment (Ottenbacher & Cooper ). Special education schools
offer advantages such as small class size, specially
trained teachers, additional support services, a focus
on teaching functional skills and individualized programmes (Kauffman & Hallahan ). Further, it
has been suggested that mainstreaming fails because
children with an ID are assumed to have the social
skills necessary to attend a regular school, and only
need the responsive environment to display them
(Wallander & Hubert ). These authors recommend that children with an ID participate in an intervention programme targeting their social skill deficits
prior to mainstreaming, as this might make mainstreaming more beneficial (Wallander & Hubert
).

Temperament
There are many different theories and definitions
of temperament and no fixed conceptualization of
it (Goldsmith, in Goldsmith et al. ). A widely
agreed-upon definition of childrens temperament, is
that temperament refers to biologically based individual differences in behaviour that are present early in
life and are relatively stable over time and across
situations and are manifested in the context of social
interaction (Goldsmith et al. ; Bates b).
Buss & Plomin () argue that all temperament
traits have a genetic basis and therefore emerge early
in development. Several studies have established that
there are genetic bases to individual differences in

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

448
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

infants and toddlers with respect to activity, emotionality, inhibition, reactivity, persistence and sociability
(see Wachs & Bates ). However, the nature and
extent of genetic influences differ for different temperament dimensions, the age of the child and the
population being studied (Wachs & Bates ). The
assumption that temperament is genetically based has
been challenged (Goldsmith, in Goldsmith et al.
; Hinde, in Goldsmith et al. ). These critics
argue that this assumption is restrictive and ignores
complications in the developmental, temporal patterns of gene action, and the influence of the pre- and
post-natal environments on the developing nervous
system and behavioural systems. Previous research
has shown that while genetic factors may influence
the stability of temperament across time and contexts, changes in temperament patterns seem to result
from either environmental influences or an interaction of genetic and environmental influences (Wachs
& Bates ).
Buss and Plomin described temperaments as a
subclass of personality traits because they are inherited but can be modified through socialization and
individual experience (Buss ). This view was also
presented by Goldsmith (in Goldsmith et al. ),
who suggested that temperament traits form the
emotional basis of later personality characteristics,
and together with other factors such as self-concept,
socialization and cognitive skills, interact to shape
personality. Rothbart (in Goldsmith et al. ) also
proposed that the areas of temperament and personality broadly overlap, where temperament provides
the biological basis for the developing personality.

Temperament of children with an

intellectual disability
The limited research on the temperament of developmentally delayed children may be partly due to the
difficulties in obtaining a large enough sample to
make inferences about these childrens temperament.
There is difficulty in recruiting a homogeneous sample (McDevitt ), because of the many different
identifiable and not readily identifiable causes that
lead to delayed growth and development among children. Down syndrome children from infancy to middle childhood have been the most extensively studied
population with regards to temperament (see Goldberg & Marcovitch for review). The reason for

this focus on children with Down syndrome is that

they represent the largest relatively homogeneous
group of developmentally delayed children, and
because they are also diagnosed at or before birth,
they can be studied during infancy when temperament research most often takes place (Goldberg &
Marcovitch ). Although children with Down
syndrome represent the largest homogeneous group
of developmentally delayed children, it would not be
appropriate to generalize these findings to children
with delays of other aetiologies (Marcovitch et al.
). Variability in temperament also exists within
populations of children with developmental disabilities and the nature of a childs temperament is not
(specifically) predictable from the disability a child
has (Huntington & Simeonsson ). For example,
typically developing children and children with Down
syndrome were rated as less difficult than infants with
global delay, cerebral palsy and sensory impairment
(Greenberg & Field ). Additionally, children
with Down syndrome had less attentional focusing
and expressed less inhibitory control and less sadness
than typically developing children (Nygaard et al.
).
A temperamental pattern of low persistence,
high sensory threshold, and high mobility was found
to be associated with specific developmental delays
(Maziade et al. ). Children identified as at risk
by teachers, were also rated by them as significantly
higher in reactivity and significantly lower in task
orientation and adaptability than those identified as
non-risk (Pullis & Cadwell ).
Additionally, mildly developmentally delayed
infants were rated by their mothers as having lower
positive mood and as being less approaching and
more withdrawn than typically developing infants
(Van Tassel ).
Temperament has also been associated with
behaviour problems, including both internalizing
and externalizing problems (see Saudino for
review). The rate of behavioural and emotional problems has been found to be much greater among intellectually disabled children than typically developing
children (e.g. Einfeld & Tonge ).
It terms of the assessment of temperament, most
measures of temperament have been developed with
the aim of measuring infants or toddlers (approximately aged months to years) temperament.
However, there are relatively few measures that can

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

449
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

be used to assess the temperament of primary

(elementary)-school-aged children. Temperament
measures have been used less frequently with clinical
populations, including children with ID. Temperament research has focused mostly on typically developing children, leading to limited research to guide
clinicians or researchers in the appropriate use of
temperament instruments with these populations
(Goldberg & Marcovitch ).

Influence of school type (regular vs. special school)

on temperament
Differences in temperament have been found
between students with special needs who attend a
regular school and those who attend a special school.
Keogh () found significant differences between
children with developmental delays in special education programmes and those in regular schools on
all three temperament factors (Task Orientation,
PersonalSocial Flexibility and Reactivity) on the
short form of the Teacher Temperament Questionnaire. It was reported that differences favored (sic)
regular over special education groups (Keogh ;
p. ) although the specific differences were not
stated.

The present study

The present study aimed to investigate the differences
between children with an ID and typically developing
children in relation to their temperament and social
skills. Because childrens temperament and social
behaviour are likely to be manifested differently at
home and at school, differences between regular and
special education groups will be investigated separately for both home and school contexts. Both
parent and teacher ratings of social competence, antisocial behaviour and temperament will be utilized.

Few studies have included assessment of both social

competence and antisocial behaviour within the same
study. Two research questions were posed:
Are there differences between children attending
regular and special schools in their level of social
competence and antisocial behaviour at home and at
school? and
Are there differences between children attending
regular and special schools in their temperament at
home and at school?

Method
Participants
Participants were -year-old children (
boys and girls, M = . years, SD = .), their
parents who completed questionnaires about their
childrens behaviours ( were mothers, were
fathers and were other carergivers), and each childs
class teacher who completed questionnaires about
their students behaviours. Participants, their parents
and teachers were recruited from eight regular
schools and special schools across a wide range of
Melbourne suburbs and thus represented a diverse
range of socio-economic backgrounds. Sixty participants were recruited from regular schools and
participants were recruited from three different types
of special schools (see Table for descriptive data of
each special school type).
In Victorias education system, the decision for special school placement is made by an interdisciplinary
panel that considers the childs performance on
intellectual functioning assessment, as well as
the childs daily adaptive skills, and additional
evidence from reports and assessments of other
professionals.
Most of the students recruited from these special
schools (and some students from the regular schools)

Table 1 Descriptive data of special schools

School type

Range of disability

Number
of schools

Number
of students

Special school
Special developmental school
Physical disability school

Mild intellectual disability (IQ range 5069)

Moderate to severe intellectual disability (IQ below 50)
Physical disability

5
5
1

27
12
1

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

450
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

greater levels of social-behavioural problems (Merrell

).

Table 2 Principal diagnoses of participating children

Diagnosis

Frequency

Intellectual disability/global developmental delay

(unknown aetiology)*
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with
intellectual disability
Down syndrome
Chromosomal abnormality/rare genetic disorder
Cerebral palsy with intellectual disability
Epilepsy with intellectual disability
Attention deficit disorder with intellectual
disability

12
8
7
7
5
2
1

*This group included two children who attend regular schools, and
were reported by their teachers to have an intellectual disability.

had diagnoses of other disabilities in addition to

ID (see Table ) as reported by their parents and
caregivers.

Measures
Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT, Kaufman &
Kaufman , )
This instrument was chosen in order to provide an
estimate of the childrens level of intellectual functioning. The K-BIT yields standardized scores, with
an overall IQ (M = , SD = ), which is measured
by the K-BIT IQ Composite (Kaufman & Kaufman
). The K-BIT was used to confirm the allocation
of participants as typically developing or a group of
children with an ID, based on the type of school they
attended.
School Social Behaviour Scales, Second Edition
(SSBS-, Merrell )
This instrument is a rating scale designed to be used
by teachers and other school personnel, to evaluate
both positive (i.e. Social Competence) and negative
(i.e. Antisocial Behaviour) behaviours of children and
youth aged years in school settings (Merrell
).
The SSBS- yields standardized scores (t-scores:
M = , SD = ). Higher Social Competence
scores indicate greater levels of social adjustment,
and higher Antisocial Behaviour scores indicate

Home and Community Social Behaviour Scales

(HCSBS, & Caldarella )
This instrument is a parent-rater version of the
SSBS- (Merrell ). It is a rating scale designed
to be used by parents and other home-based raters
(such as grandparents, guardians) in evaluating
Social Competence and Antisocial Behaviour of
children and youth, aged years, in home and
community settings. The HCSBS and SSBS-
are similar conceptually in item content, number
of items and rating format (Merrell & Caldarella
).
Emotionality, Activity, Sociability (EAS) Temperament
Survey for Children: Parental Ratings (Buss &
Plomin )
This is a questionnaire designed to be completed by
parents to assess their childrens temperament. It is
intended to assess temperament in children aged
years, but has also been used with adolescents (
-years-olds) with acceptable reliability (Goodyer
et al. ). Four dimensions of temperament are
proposed: Emotionality, Activity, Sociability and
Shyness.
Emotionality, Activity, Sociability (EAS) Temperament
Survey for Children: Teacher Ratings (Buss &
Plomin )
This questionnaire contains similar items to the one
completed by parents except for some items that
account for behaviours that are likely to be observed
by teachers in the different social context of school
classroom, or the school grounds. The survey also
yields a score for each of the dimensions of Emotionality, Activity, Sociability and Shyness.

Procedure
Parents and teachers completed the questionnaires
in their own time and returned them in a stamped
addressed envelope to the investigator. Children
were administered the K-BIT during school
hours in a private space in their usual school
environment.

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

451
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

Results
Descriptive data
Descriptive statistics for each of the variables are
displayed in Table . Most participants in the overall
sample were rated by both their teachers and parents
as being in the Average range of Social Competence
and Antisocial Behaviour, when compared with the
normative group. Most students in regular schools
were rated by their teachers and parents as being in
the Average level (th to th percentile) for Social
Competence and Antisocial Behaviour, while most
students in special schools were also rated by their
teachers as being in the Average range of Social Competence and Antisocial Behaviour, but they mostly
were rated by their parents as being in the At-Risk
range (th to th percentile) of Social Competence
and Antisocial Behaviour.
Regular school students were found to be in the
Average range of intelligence compared with the
normative group, while special school students
were in the Lower Extreme range of intelligence.
Independent sample t-tests were performed to find
out whether there were any significant differences
between regular school students and special school
students, in terms of their K-BIT IQ Composite.
Students attending regular schools had a significantly
higher K-BIT IQ Composite than those attending

special schools, t() = ., P = . (two-tailed),

d = .. These results confirmed the allocation of
participants into regular and special education settings, on the basis of their intellectual functioning.

Home context
Differences between children attending regular and special
schools in their level of social competence and antisocial
behaviour at home
Results of independent sample t-tests showed that
students attending regular schools were rated by
their parents significantly more highly on their level
of Social Competence (M = ., SD = .)
than those attending special schools (M = .,
SD = .), t() = ., P = . (two-tailed),
d = .. Additionally, students attending regular
schools were rated by their parents significantly lower
on their level of Antisocial Behaviour (M = .,
SD = .) than those attending special schools
(M = ., SD = .), t() = ., P = .
(two-tailed), d = ..
Differences between children attending regular and special
schools in their temperament at home
Results of independent sample t-tests showed that
students attending regular schools were rated by their

Table 3 Descriptive statistics of variables measured

Mean score (SD)

K-BIT IQ composite
Social Competence (parent-rated)
Antisocial Behaviour (parent-rated)
Social Competence (teacher-rated)
Antisocial Behaviour (teacher-rated)
Emotionality (parent-rated)
Activity (parent-rated)
Sociability (parent-rated)
Shyness (parent-rated)
Emotionality (teacher-rated)
Activity (teacher-rated)
Sociability (teacher-rated)
Shyness (teacher-rated)

Total sample (n = 100)

Regular school (n = 60)

Special school (n = 40)

84.44
46.47
54.88
50.65
49.35
2.85
3.71
3.40
2.45
2.14
3.51
3.89
2.53

102.30
51.70
48.80
53.90
47.03
2.73
3.63
3.62
2.56
1.93
3.51
3.89
2.45

57.65
38.63
64.00
45.78
52.83
3.03
3.83
3.08
2.29
2.44
3.52
3.90
2.66

(25.55)
(11.20)
(13.69)
(8.95)
(8.63)
(0.98)
(0.84)
(0.84)
(0.90)
(0.98)
(0.90)
(0.81)
(0.83)

K-BIT, Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test.

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

(11.88)
(9.06)
(8.56)
(8.74)
(8.38)
(0.92)
(0.84)
(0.73)
(0.94)
(0.97)
(0.86)
(0.74)
(0.82)

(14.74)
(9.45)
(14.93)
(6.87)
(7.89)
(1.05)
(0.85)
(0.89)
(0.82)
(0.94)
(0.98)
(0.92)
(0.83)

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

452
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

parents (on the EAS questionnaire) as significantly

higher in the temperament dimension of Sociability
(M = ., SD = .) than those attending special
schools (M = ., SD = .), t() = .,
P = . (two-tailed), d = .. No significant differences were found between students attending regular schools and those attending special school, in
terms of their parents ratings of the temperament
dimensions of Emotionality t() = ., P = .
(two-tailed), Activity t() = ., P = . (twotailed), and Shyness t() = ., P = . (twotailed).

School context
Differences between children attending regular and special
schools in their level of social competence and antisocial
behaviour at school
Results of independent sample t-tests showed that
students attending regular schools were rated by
their teachers significantly more highly on their level
of Social Competence (M = ., SD = .)
than those attending special schools (M = .,
SD = .), t() = ., P = . (two-tailed),
d = .. Students attending regular schools were
rated by their teachers significantly lower on their
level of Antisocial Behaviour (M = ., SD = .)
than those attending special schools (M = .,
SD = .), t() = ., P = . (two-tailed),
d = ..
Differences between children attending regular and special
schools in their temperament at school
Results of independent sample t-tests showed that
students attending regular schools were rated by their
teachers (on the EAS questionnaire) significantly
lower on the Emotionality dimension of temperament
(M = ., SD = .) than those attending special
schools (M = ., SD = .), t() = ., P = .
(two-tailed), d = ..
No significant differences were found between
students attending regular schools and those
attending special school, in relation to their
teachers ratings of their level of Activity, t() =
., P = . (two-tailed), Sociability, t() = .,
P = . (two-tailed), and Shyness t() = .,
P = . (two-tailed).

Discussion
Overall, there were minimal differences in temperament between the regular and special education
groups. Differences in parent-rated temperament
between children attending regular and special
schools, were found only for the temperament dimension of sociability, suggesting that intellectually
disabled children have almost as much individual
variability in temperament as typically developing
children. Consequently, intellectually disabled children could not be readily distinguished from typically
developing children on the basis of their temperament styles, except for their level of sociability.
When childrens temperaments were rated by
teachers, a difference between those attending regular
and special schools was found only for the temperament dimension of emotionality, suggesting again
that intellectually disabled children have almost as
much individual variability in temperament as typically developing children, and therefore cannot be
easily distinguished from typically developing children on the basis of their temperament styles.
In one of the few studies in this area, significant
differences were found (on teacher-rated temperament factors of Task Orientation, PersonalSocial
Flexibility and Reactivity) between children who
attended regular and special schools (Keogh ).
It was reported that differences favored (sic) regular
over special education groups (Keogh ; p. )
although the nature of these differences were not
stated. The present studys results showed a significant difference in teacher-rated emotionality between
special school and regular school students (where
special school students were rated more highly on
emotionality than regular school students), and are
therefore consistent with Keoghs finding of a significant difference on Reactivity (which measures intensity, threshold and negative mood).
Van Tassel () compared mildly developmentally delayed infants and typically developing infants.
Delayed infants were rated by their mothers as having
lower positive mood and as being less approaching
and more withdrawn than the typically developing
infants. This finding is more consistent with the
teacher ratings of temperament in the present study,
where special school children were rated as higher in
emotionality, but the present findings are not consistent with Van Tassels finding of less approach and

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

453
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

higher withdrawal (comparable to the shyness dimension of the EAS). The inconsistency between the
current studys results and that of Van Tassel ()
may be attributed to the different age groups
assessed. Because temperament becomes more stable
in later stages of development, when children attend
school, it is likely that emotionality is stable from
early stages of development, whereas shyness manifests itself at later stages of development.
Findings about temperament in this study are
unique. First, the participants were of primary (elementary) school age, as opposed to participants in
other temperament studies where infants have mostly
been investigated. Second, the participants in this
study included both typically developing and intellectually disabled children. Intellectually disabled
children are frequently overlooked in research
investigating individual differences among children.
Hence, the results of the present study, that intellectually disabled children display the same range of
temperamental individuality as do typically developing children, differ from existing studies of ID and
temperament (e.g. Maziade et al. ). Previous
studies have reported a temperamental pattern of low
persistence, high sensory threshold and high mobility
characteristic of specific developmental delays.
The present study also found that children who
attend regular schools had a significantly higher level
of social competence and significantly lower level
of antisocial behaviour, at both home and school,
when compared with children who attend special
schools.
When one considers that the special school students have an ID, it seems plausible that, because of
their lower intellectual functioning, they would also
have poorer social skills. However, the finding of different social skills in children attending regular and
special schools also suggests that there are aspects of
that school context which influence childrens social
behaviour. Children in special schools interact with
children who also have an ID. Previous research has,
in fact, suggested that when children with severe ID
are in special education settings with peers who also
have severe ID, the nature of the childrens disabilities
limit their opportunities for diverse peer interactions
(Diamond ).
However, there have been conflicting findings in
relation to the influence of attending a particular
school type on childrens social behaviour. If a child

with an ID attends a regular school, there appear to

be more opportunities and demands for social interaction, but the childs dissimilarity to others in the
school setting may lead to social exclusion, which
might make the experience a negative one for the
child.

Methodological issues
Certain characteristics of the special education (children with an ID) sample limit the ability to generalize
the results of the present work. The participants from
the special school setting, although representative
of those children found in special education programmes (in terms of the range of ID among children
in those programmes) were very heterogeneous.
Because one of the aims of the study was to investigate the social skills of children with an ID in general,
rather than children with a specific aetiology (e.g.
Down syndrome), the sample in the current study
consisted of children with ID with various aetiologies,
including children with no known aetiology, but who
had previously been assessed as having an ID. The
sample also consisted of children with a range of
intellectual functioning. Within the group of children
with an ID, this consisted of children with mild-tosevere ID. Thus, generalizing the findings of the study
to children with a particular aetiology or a specific
level of ID should be carried out with caution.
Additionally, the temperament measure used in the
present study was developed on typically developing
children and this should be considered in the interpretation of the results of the study. Unfortunately,
there is limited literature to guide clinicians or
researchers in the appropriate use of temperament
instruments with clinical populations or intellectually
disabled children (Goldberg & Marcovitch ).

Future research
It is difficult to ascertain what aspect of different
school settings determined differences in childrens
social behaviour. That is, whether childrens differential behaviours in special and regular schools were
related to the nature of the school environment, or
the level of childrens intellectual functioning (which
determined the type of school they attended). In
order to investigate this further, one might consider
investigating aspects of the school environment that

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

454
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

may influence childrens social behaviour, such as

how much contact children with an ID have with
other children with a disability as well as with typically developing children. Extensions of the current
design might include the addition of a group of children with an ID who are integrated into mainstream
schools. Comparing the social skills of these three
groups would provide greater understanding of
the influence of school type on childrens social
behaviour.

Conclusion
The current study has demonstrated a link between
the type of school attended by children (special or
regular) and their socially competent and antisocial
behaviour at home and in the community. Children
who attended a special school were found to have
poorer social skills at home and at school than those
who attended regular schools. Hence, the social contexts in which children function, play an important
role in how their social skills are manifested and how
their temperament characteristics are expressed. This
may be attributed to the influence of interactants in
those settings, as well as constraints on childrens
behaviour in those settings.
The results of the current study also provided evidence of similar individual (temperamental) differences among both typically developing children and
children with an ID, indicating that childrens temperament has the potential to have a similar influence
on childrens social behaviour, irrespective of their
level of intellectual functioning. These results contribute to the limited amount of research on the differences in temperament between these two groups,
particularly with primary (elementary)-school-aged
children. Individual differences have also been
neglected in previous investigations of children with
an ID, of diverse aetiologies. These findings thus provide important information about the nature of individual differences among children with an ID.

References
Adams D. & Allen D. () Assessing the need for reactive
behaviour management strategies in children with intellectual disability and severe challenging behaviour. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research , .

Bates J. E. (a) Applications of temperament concepts.

In: Temperament in Childhood (eds G. A. Kohnstamm,
J. E. Bates & M. K. Rothbart), pp. . Wiley,
Chichester.
Bates J. E. (b) Concepts and measures of temperament. In: Temperament in Childhood (eds G. A.
Kohnstamm, J. E. Bates & M. K. Rothbart), pp. .
Wiley, Chichester.
Bellanti C. J. & Bierman K. L. () Disentangling the
impact of low cognitive ability and inattention on social
behavior and peer relationships. Journal of Clinical Child
Psychology , .
Birch J. W. () Mainstreaming: Educable Mentally
Retarded Children in Regular Classes. Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, VA.
Buss A. H. () Temperaments as personality traits. In:
Temperament in Childhood (ed. M. K. Rothbart), pp.
. Wiley, Chichester.
Buss A. H. & Plomin R. () Temperament: Early Developing Personality Traits. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Buysse V. & Bailey D. B. Jr () Behavioral and developmental outcomes in young children with disabilities in
integrated and segregated settings: a review of comparative studies. Journal of Special Education , .
Diamond K. E. () The development of social competence in children with disabilities. In: Blackwell Handbook
of Childhood Social Development. Blackwell Handbooks of
Developmental Psychology (eds P. K. Smith & C. H. Hart),
pp. . Blackwell, Malden, MA.
Dunlap G., Robbins F. R. & Darrow M. A. ()
Parents reports of their childrens challenging behaviors:
results of a statewide survey. Mental Retardation ,
.
Einfeld S. L. & Tonge B. J. () Population prevalence
of psychopathology in children and adolescents with
intellectual disability. II. Epidemiological findings. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research , .
Freeman S. F. N. & Alkin M. C. () Academic and
social attainments of children with mental retardation in
general education and special education settings. Remedial and Special Education , .
Goldberg S. & Marcovitch S. () Temperament in developmentally disabled children. In: Temperament in Childhood (eds G. A. Kohnstamm, J. E. Bates & M. K.
Rothbart), pp. . Wiley, Chichester.
Goldsmith H. H., Buss A. H., Plomin R., Rothbart M. K.,
Thomas A., Chess S., Hinde R. A. & McCall R. B. ()
Roundtable: what is temperament? Four approaches.
Child Development , .
Goodyer I. M., Ashby L., Altham P. M. E., Vize C. &
Cooper P. J. () Temperament and major depression
in - to -year-olds. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines , .
Green K. D., Forehand R., Beck H. & Vosk B. () An
assessment of the relationship among measures of chil-

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

455
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

drens social competence and childrens academic

achievement. Child Development , .
Greenberg R. & Field T. () Temperament ratings of
handicapped infants during classroom, mother, and
teacher interactions. Journal of Pediatric Psychology ,
.
Guralnick M. J. () The peer social networks of young
boys with developmental delays. American Journal on
Mental Retardation , .
Guralnick M. J. () Family and child influences on the
peer-related social competence of young children with
developmental delays. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews , .
Guralnick M. J. () Social competence with peers and
early childhood inclusion: Need for alternative
approaches. In: Early Childhood Inclusion: Focus on Change
(ed. M. J. Guralnick), pp. . Brookes, Baltimore,
MD.
Guralnick M. J., Connor R. T., Hammond M. A., Gottman
J. M. & Kinnish K. () Immediate effects of mainstreamed settings on the social interactions and social
integration of preschool children. American Journal on
Mental Retardation , .
Guralnick M. J. & Groom J. M. () Correlates of peerrelated social competence of developmentally delayed
preschool children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency
, .
Guralnick M. J., Paul-Brown D., Groom J. M., Booth
C. L., Hammond M. A., Tupper D. B. & Gelenter A.
() Conflict resolution patterns of preschool children
with and without developmental delays in heterogeneous
playgroups. Early Education and Development , .
Halvorsen A. T. & Sailor W. () Integration of students
with severe and profound disabilities: a review of
research. In: Issues and Research in Special Education, Vol.
(ed. R. Gaylord-Ross), pp. . Teachers College
Press, New York.
Huntington G. S. & Simeonsson R. J. () Temperament
and adaptation in infants and young children with disabilities. Infant Mental Health Journal , .
Jacobs L., Turner L. A., Faust M. & Stewart M. ()
Social problem solving of children with and without mental retardation. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities , .
Kasari C. & Bauminger N. () Social and emotional
development in children with mental retardation. In:
Handbook of Mental Retardation and Development (eds
J. A. Burack, R. M. Hodapp & E. Zigler), pp. .
Cambridge University Press, New York.
Kauffman J. M. & Hallahan D. P. () Towards a comprehensive delivery system for special education. In: Integrating General and Special Education (eds J. I. Goodlad &
T. C. Lovitt), pp. . Merrill, New York.
Kaufman A. S. & Kaufman N. L. () Kaufman Brief
Intelligence Test. American Guidance Service, Circle Pines,
MN.

Kaufman A. S. & Kaufman N. L. () Australian Adaptation of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT). Adaptation Package. American Guidance Service, Circle Pines,
MN.
Keogh B. K. () Temperament and teachers views of
teachability. In: Prevention and Early Intervention: Individual Differences as Risk Factors for the Mental Health of
Children (eds W. B. Carey & S. C. McDevitt), pp.
. Bruner/Mazel, New York.
Kopp C. B., Baker B. L. & Brown K. W. () Social skills
and their correlates: preschoolers with developmental
delays. American Journal on Mental Retardation ,
.
Lahey B. B., Loeber R., Hart E. L., Frick P. J., Applegate
B., Zhang Q., Green S. M. & Russo M. F. () Fouryear longitudinal study of conduct disorder in boys: patterns and predictors of persistence. Journal of Abnormal
Psychology , .
Marcovitch S., Goldberg S., Lojkasek M. & MacGregor D.
() The concept of difficult temperament in the developmentally disabled preschool child. Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology , .
Martin R. P. () Child temperament and common problems in schooling: hypotheses about causal connections.
Journal of School Psychology , .
Maziade M., Caron C., Cote R., Boutin P. & Thivierge J.
() Extreme temperament and diagnosis. Archives of
General Psychiatry , .
McDevitt S. C. () Assessment of temperament in
developmentally disabled infants and preschoolers. In:
Assessment of Young Developmentally Disabled Children (eds
T. D. Wachs & R. Sheehan), pp. . Plenum Press,
New York.
Mercer C. D. & Algozzine B. () Observational learning
and the retarded: teaching implications. Education and
Training of the Mentally Retarded , .
Merrell K. W. () School Social Behavior Scales, nd edn.
Assessment-Intervention Resources, Eugene, OR.
Merrell K. W. & Caldarella P. () Home and Community
Social Behavior Scales. Assessment-Intervention
Resources, Eugene, OR.
Nygaard E., Smith L. & Torgersen A. M. () Temperament in children with Down syndrome and in prematurely born children. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
, .
Ottenbacher K. J. & Cooper M. M. () The effect of
class placement on the social adjustment of mentally
retarded children. Journal of Research and Development in
Education , .
Pearl R., Farmer T. W., Van Acker R., Rodkin P., Bost
K. K., Coe M. & Henley W. () The social integration
of students with mild disabilities in general education
classrooms: peer group membership and peer-assessed
social behaviour. Elementary School Journal , .

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

456
E. Zion et al. Temperament and social behaviour in children

Peterson N. L. & Haralick J. G. () Integration of handicapped and non-handicapped preschoolers: an analysis

of play behavior and social interaction. Education and
Training of the Mentally Retarded , .
Prior M. () Childhood temperament. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines , .
Pullis M. & Cadwell J. () Temperament as a factor in
the assessment of children educationally at risk. Journal
of Special Education , .
Sanson A., Hemphill S. A. & Smart D. () Temperament and social development. In: Blackwell Handbook of
Childhood Social Development (eds P. K. Smith & C.
Hart), pp. . Blackwell, Malden, MA.

Szatmari P., Offord D. R., Siegel L. S., Finlayson M. A. J.

& Tuff L. () The clinical significance of neurocognitive impairments among children with psychiatric disorders: diagnosis and situational specificity. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry , .
Taylor A. R., Asher S. R. & Williams G. A. () The
social adaptation of mainstreamed mildly retarded children. Child Development , .
Tredgold A. F. () A Textbook of Mental Deficiency.
Wood, Baltimore, MD.
Van Tassel E. () Temperament characteristics of mildly
developmentally delayed infants. Developmental and
Behavioral Pediatrics , .

Sanson A., Hemphill S. A. & Smart D. () Connections

between temperament and social development: a review.
Social Development , .

Wachs T. D. & Bates J. E. () Temperament. In: Blackwell Handbook of Infant Development (eds G. Bremner &
A. Fogel), pp. . Blackwell, Malden, MA.

Sanson A. & Rothbart M. K. () Child temperament

and parenting. In: Handbook of Parenting, Vol. (ed. M.
Bornstein), pp. . Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.

Wallander J. L. & Hubert N. C. () Peer social dysfunction in children with developmental disabilities: empirical
basis and a conceptual model. Clinical Psychology Review
, .

Saudino K. J. () Special article: behavioral genetics and

child temperament. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics , .

Accepted September

The Authors, Journal Compilation Blackwell Publishing Ltd