Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the relationships among measures of behavioral inhibition, physiological reactivity, and caregiver attitudes. Measures comprised of heart rate; survey assessments of caregiver empathy with the child, appropriateness of caregiver developmental expectations of the child, and use of positive discipline techniques; and observational measures of behavioral inhibition were gathered in a laboratory setting on 72, 5β6βyear old children. It was found that heart rate and behavioral inhibition were positively correlated (0.595), whereas behavioral inhibition was negatively correlated with caregiver attitudes of empathy (β0.356), appropriate expectations (β0.366), and use of positive discipline techniques (β0.275). However, there was no correlation between heart rate and caregiver attitudes. These data suggest that physiological reactivity to novel stimuli and caregiver attitudes of empathy, appropriate expectations, and use of positive discipline techniques conjointly influence behavioral inhibition in early childhood. Further, these three caregiver variables accounted for significant variance in children who had high reactive physiological profiles associated with inhibited behavior patterns, but did not display such patterns. Copyright Β© 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.