Application of the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire for evaluating temperament in the Japanese infant: Creation of an abridged Japanese version

Abstract

The Japanese version of the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire (RITQ) was implemented to re-evaluate factor structure of the temperament scale with the objective of simplification. The questionnaire was conducted on 1099 mothers of Japanese infants visiting health centers for their children's health examinations at 6 or 7 months. As a result, a 57-item abridged version was constructed consisting of the seven subscales: 'fear of strangers and strange situations', 'insensitivity to food', 'regularity of rhythm', 'manageability', 'activity level', 'persistence of attention', and 'insensitivity to touch'. Although the items did not break down into the traditional nine temperament dimensions extracted by Carey et al., a certain commonality was seen in factor structure compared with the results of factor analysis using the RITQ in studies in Japan and abroad.