Characteristics of Child Temperament and Its Association with Mastery Motivation: A Comparative Study in Young Children with and Without Global Developmental Delays

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Child temperament and mastery motivation are key factors for future child competencies. Therefore, two purposes of this study were: (1) to compare temperament characteristics in children with global developmental delay (GDD) and typical development (TD); (2) to explore the relations among child temperament and mastery motivation in GDD and TD groups. This study design was cross-sectional. Methods: Participants included 26 children with GDD (ages 2–5) recruited from clinical settings in Central Taichung. A comparison group of 26 TD children, matched for sex and mental age, was subsequently enrolled through community advertisements and local early childhood centers. The participants were invited to our laboratory in order to conduct child development assessment using the Comprehensive Developmental Inventory for Infants and Toddlers, and their mothers were asked to fill in questionnaires, including the revised Dimension of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ 18) with preschool version to assess mastery motivation and the Child Behavior Questionnaire—Short Form to obtain three dimensions of child temperament (surgency/extraversion, negative affect, effortful control). Correlations and hierarchical regressions were used to examine associations (p < 0.05, two-tailed). Results: Children with GDD exhibited higher extraversion and lower effortful control than children with TD, whereas no group difference was observed in negative affect. Domain-specific relationships between child temperament and mastery motivation were found in both the GDD and TD groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that early childhood practitioners should consider children’s temperamental and mastery motivation characteristics, identify individual strengths and weaknesses, and design strength-based intervention strategies to promote engagement in daily activities within natural settings.