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Temperament Training for Early Childhood Caregivers: A Study of the Effectiveness of Training

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Abstract

The purposes of this study were a) to provide data on caregivers' preexisting knowledge of temperament concepts, and b) to investigate the effect of training sessions for caregivers about temperament concepts. Two hundred ninety-two caregivers of children 6 years and under completed questionnaires measuring their knowledge of temperament and acceptance of children. In addition, a randomized, pre-test-posttest-delayed posttest, control group design was used to assess the effect of temperament workshops on the knowledge of 169 of the caregivers. The major findings were: 1. Without training, caregivers knew what temperament was but had limited knowledge about many specific concepts concerning temperament, 2. without training, caregivers demonstrated little knowledge about how to achieve a goodness of fit by using behavioral management techniques; though they did particularly want to know more about this concept; 3. the caregivers showed a high degree of acceptance of temperament concepts; 4. training sessions were effective in increasing the caregivers' knowledge about temperament concepts; however, 5. there was no statistically significant indication that the training sessions were effective in increasing the caregivers' acceptance of children's behaviors and feelings.

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Franyo, G.A., Hyson, M.C. Temperament Training for Early Childhood Caregivers: A Study of the Effectiveness of Training. Child & Youth Care Forum 28, 329–349 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021922413145

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