Child Development Media » History, Theory & Research

This series of four videos on the temperament of children is based on original research of Drs Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas and the work of the Temperament Program at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Drs Chess and Thomas provide both a general introduction to temperament concepts and detailed presentations of three clusters of temperament traits associated with the development of behavioral problems. This series was developed to present temperament concepts to health care providers.

The set includes:

1) Using Temperament Concepts to Prevent Behavior Problems, 22 minutes.
Drs Chess and Thomas describe and illustrate the nine temperament traits of children identified from their research and they describe three clusters of traits that identify most children. The tape provides an overview of the Kaiser research project on temperament. Parents talk about behavioral concerns they have with their children and pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners comment about the use of temperament concepts in their daily practice;

2) Understanding the High-Intensity, Slow Adapting Child, 22 minutes.
In this tape Chess and Thomas describe the high-intensity, slow-adapting child. Children are shown at home and at play demonstrating some of the main characteristics of this cluster including refusal to obey adult requests; hitting, biting and fighting with other children; difficulty getting to sleep and waking up; and returning to forbidden activities. Temper tantrums are explained as the result of increasing intensity leading to decreasing adaptability. Strategies for guiding parents whose children have this temperament cluster are described;

3) Understanding the High Activity, Slow-Adapting Child with Low Rhythmicity, 20 minutes.
This tape describes the high-activity slow-adapting child. Children are shown at home and at play demonstrating some of the main characteristics of this cluster: difficulties at mealtimes and bedtime; "running wild"; bossing other children and resisting toilet training. Strategies for guiding parents whose children have this temperament cluster are described;

4) Understanding the Withdrawn Child with High Sensitivity & Intensity, 22 minutes.
This tape describes the sensitive, intense, withdrawing child. Children are shown at home and at play demonstrating some of the main characteristics of this cluster: difficulty separating from parents; rejection of new foods, clothing or people; difficulty making new friends; and strong reactions to routine medical procedures. These are the slow-to-warm-up children who respond well to "segmentation", breaking new experiences into manageable parts. This and other strategies for guiding parents whose children have this temperament cluster are described.

This same series has been edited for parents, Parents Guide to Temperament (#31617).

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Available in DVD
Produced By: Kaiser Permanente
Total Running Time: 86 minutes

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