Citation

Klein HA. Early Child Res. Q. 1991; 6(2): 211-224.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0885-2006(91)90008-9

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The context of childhood group care is important for adjustment because it can provide a good or a poor fit with individual temperament dimensions. This research investigated "ideals" for temperament dimensions, actual temperament scores, and temperament-adjustment relationships in two cultural contexts: Israel and American early childhood group care. American (22) and Israeli (18) caregivers first provided descriptions of their ideal for a young child's temperament and then provided temperament and adjustment descriptions for each of six children actually in their care (132 and 108, respectively). The two groups of caregivers held different ideals for children's temperament and also judged actual children differently. The relationship of temperament to adjustment differed between the groups. The usefulness of the "fit" concept in understanding adjustment is suggested and the potential of contextual manipulations for extending good fit to a wider range of children is explored.