Perceived Difficult Temperament, Hostile Maternal Child-Rearing Attitudes and Insulin Resistance Syndrome Precursors among Children: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study

BACKGROUND: We prospectively examined the relationship between latent constructs of perceived difficult temperament and hostile maternal child-rearing attitudes on the one hand, and the cluster of multiple cardiovascular risk factors comprising the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) on the other. METHODS: A 3-year follow-up study of 451 randomly selected healthy children was used. The temperament of the children and maternal child-rearing attitudes were self-rated by the mothers. The physiological parameters measured were serum insulin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, body-mass index and subscapular skinfold thickness. We analyzed the data using structural equation models that involved specific paths allowing separation, and tests of both unique and common (latent) aspects of measured variables. RESULTS: Among boys we found a cross-lagged effect between the latent constructs of perceived difficult temperament and IRS, as well as 1 specific effect from hostile maternal child-rearing attitudes to HDL-C. Among girls there were 6 specific effects from specific measures of perceived temperamental difficultness or hostile maternal child-rearing attitudes that influenced the IRS or its components. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that temperament and maternal child-rearing attitudes may contribute to the early development of the IRS in a gender-specific way among children, thereby potentially increasing the risk of coronary heart disease later in life.