Rep36 Understanding Personality Disorder

2.2.1b Temperament factors
Children vary in their response to their
environment and the variability of behaviour in
newborns is considered to have an underlying
biological base. Newborns show individual
differences in reactivity and self-regulation that
are assumed to have a constitutional basis
(Rothbart, 1991). From this original base, it has
been observed that children affect the quality of
the environment they receive by shaping the
responses of carers to conform to their
temperament (Scarr & McCartney, 1983). Some
connections between underlying temperament
and personality development have been
observed (Rothbart & Ahadi, 1994) indicating
that high fearfulness and high irritability are
connected to the development of neurosis. High
activity and positive affect are indicated in the
development of an extraverted personality style.
Attentional persistence is indicated in the
development of conscientiousness and a
proneness to distress is linked to attachment
problems. These insights would explain a level of
temperament variability within human beings
but would not explain the development of
pathological personality patterns. In order to
understand the connection between variability of
temperament and personality pathology, two
potential pathways have been identified. First, an
individual temperament can create problems for
an individuals peers and parents that can lead to
an amplification of their difficulties (Rutter &
Quinton, 1984). Second, certain characteristics
of temperament may make children more
susceptible to environmental stressors (Paris,
1996). Cloninger 
et al
. (1993) have made a
further distinction by suggesting personality is
composed of heritable temperament traits and
character traits (self-directedness, cooperativeness
and self transcendence). The contention is that
temperament is linked to the development of
personality traits, whereas character determines
whether temperament traits will be expressed as