- I am trying to access a questionnaire or scoresheet from the download page and it doesn’t appear to be downloading! Any suggestions?
- How can I get the temperament measures? Is there a charge?
- How do I score the questionnaires?
- How do I determine high, middle, and low score on the scales? Are there published norms?
- Can you provide the measures in a different language?
- Do you have any computer-based questionnaires?
- Are there any additional scales for the CBQ?
- The IBQ is for infants, age 3-12 months; the ECBQ covers age 18-36 months. Do you have a questionnaire for the 13-17 month range?
- What if my sample includes children in age groups covered by different instruments?
- Do you know of any researchers testing subjects from birth? Which questionnaire was used?
- Could I use your questionnaire to measure my child’s temperament?
- How long does it take to complete each questionnaire?
- What are the correct citations for the questionnaires?
- Can these measures be used for clinical research? If so, what are the clinical cut-off points for the temperament scales?
- Do you distribute any observational (laboratory or home) temperament measures?
How can I get the temperament measures? Is there a charge?
We do not charge researchers to use our temperament measures. Dr. Rothbart and our team believe the free exchange of scientific information is essential to research improvement. Access permission to the questionnaires can be repaid by sharing with us the results of your studies.
To request access to the questionnaires, please complete and submit the request form , providing your email, name, institutional affiliation, and a brief description of your intended study, including age ranges and which questionnaire(s) you plan to review or use. An email reply will be sent immediately, providing a password and URL to obtain copies of the measures. You may also contact Sam by email at [email protected] or by postal mail at Department of Psychology, Bowdoin College, 6900 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011.
How do I score the questionnaires?
Instructions for scoring the measures are available from the same download page as the questionnaires. The scoring process is the same for all measures. After scores are computed, you may wish to compare them to the average scores reported in the appropriate articles pertaining to the specific measure(s) used. An important caution; however, is that these are not considered to be published norms. In general, one should be extremely wary of using canned “norms” because it is not obvious that one could actually find a population to be a representative subset of one’s present sample.
Can you provide the measures in a different language?
The various measures have been translated into a number of languages. Please visit the questionnaire-specific pages linked from our Instrument Descriptions page to learn if the instrument is available in the language you desire. The lists in the Instrument Descriptions section includes all translations of the questionnaires we possess. If you create a translation of one or more of the questionnaires that is not on the list, please allow us to disseminate it on this website by contacting Samuel Putnam at [email protected]. We advise that those intending to translate these measures read this article concerning model translation procedures. Although it is not necessary to perform all steps carried out by these authors, procedures such as back-translation will help ensure a quality translation.
Do you have any computer-based questionnaires?
Not at this time. Researchers are, however, welcome to create electronically-administered versions of the instruments on survey software such as Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey.
Are there any additional scales for the CBQ?
Yes. Five additional social behavior scales have been created for use with 3- to 7-year-olds: Aggression, Empathy, Guilt/Shame, Help-Seeking, and Negativism. You can download these scales after completing the Questionnaire Request Form.
The IBQ is for infants aged 3-12 months; the ECBQ covers age 18-36 months. Do you have a questionnaire for the 13-17 month range?
At this time, we believe that the ECBQ is the best choice for this age range, since several IBQ/IBQ-R items do not appear to be appropriate for children older than one year. Exceptions to this rule include use with samples with developmental delays or use by researchers who wish to directly compare their results at 13-17 months to data obtained with 3- to 12-month-olds.
What if my sample includes children in age groups covered by different instruments?
Because the questions and scales differ somewhat between the instruments, data collected with different instruments cannot be combined into a single dataset. If you are collecting a sample from children with a very wide age range, you may have to create two subsamples that are analyzed separately.
Please note that the age ranges listed for the different instruments are only rough guidelines, and the questionnaires can successfully be used with children slightly older or younger than the indicated ages. As such, if your sample extends slightly beyond these age ranges, you can use a single measure.
Do you know of any researchers testing subjects from birth? Which questionnaire was used?
The IBQ and IBQ-R Very Short Form have been successfully used with very young infants. We are hopeful that the majority of items and scales in the standard and short IBQ-R questionnaires will prove to be valid with newborns, but this has not yet been demonstrated. If you have used this questionnaire with this age group and would like to provide us with your results, we would greatly appreciate it.
Could I use your questionnaire to measure my child’s
temperament?
These measures are NOT the best instruments to use for an individual assessment. Our questionnaires are intended for use by academic and institutional researchers who are studying large numbers of infants, children, adolescents, and adults; typically in studies aimed at determining the origins and outcomes associated with different temperament dimensions.
Dimension scores for an individual child is unlikely to be informative to a parent, because there is no clear comparison group. These scores vary considerably across cultures and ages. As such, a given scale score might be high in comparison to one group but low in comparison to another. Whether a child is “high” or “low” on a given trait can only be determined in comparison to other children in a larger sample.
If you wish to complete one of our instruments for your child, you are welcome to do so. Some parents have reported that the exercise of filling out the measure helped them think about their child in a new way. However, this self-reflection should not be considered to be clear evidence of their child’s temperament.
How long does it take to complete each questionnaire?
The length of time for completion depends on: the version used (long or short forms), the respondent’s familiarity with the language, the subject’s level of development, and aspects of the child or completion conditions. The following are general estimates:
IBQ – 20-30 minutes; IBQ-R Standard – 1 hour; Short – 30-40 minutes; Very Short – 10-15 minutes
ECBQ Standard – 1 hour; Short – 30-40 minutes; Very Short – 10-15 minutes
CBQ Standard – 1 hour; Short – 30-40 minutes; Very Short – 10-15 minutes
TMCQ, Parent-report – 25-30 minutes
EATQ-R, Standard – 1 hour
ATQ, Standard – 30-45 minutes; Short – 10-20 minutes
The document I am trying to download is not downloading. How can I acquire it?
This is a new problem that emerged in 2021. Some web browsers have changed their operations for downloaded files, and others no longer allow downloads of Word documents.
If possible, access the download page using Firefox. After clicking on the link for your document, watch the download icon in the top right of the screen (this looks like an arrow facing downward into a “tray”). If a file is downloading, it will briefly turn to a circle. When this is done, click on the download icon and you should be able to open the file.
If you are using Chrome, try right-clicking on the link and select “open link in a new window”. When the new window opens, refresh it, and the downloaded file should be available at the bottom left of your screen.
If these actions are not successful, please email Sam at [email protected] to report the problem. In your email, indicate the specific questionnaire you wish to acquire and he can email it to you.
What are the correct citations for the questionnaires?
The correct citations for the temperament measures (as of 8/24/16) are as follows. Citations that are underlined contain links to the articles. Please contact us to determine updated publication information on manuscripts in preparation, submitted, or in press.
IBQ
Rothbart, M. K. (1981). Measurement of temperament in infancy. Child Development, 52, 569-578.
IBQ-R
IBQ-R-Short/Very Short
ECBQ
ECBQ-Short/Very Short
CBQ
CBQ-Short/ Very Short
TMCQ
EATQ
EATQ-R
ATQ
Can these measures be used for clinical research? If so, what are the clinical cut-off points for the temperament scales?
Our focus is on normal development, so the instruments are not designed for use in diagnosis of psychological or psychiatric disorders. We are hopeful that they may be helpful in the context of a therapeutic relationship, or in other applied settings. However, we must emphasize that this has not been empirically demonstrated, and in no way do we make any claims regarding their effectiveness for uses other than research. Regarding “cut-off” scores, please see our reply to the question below.
How do I determine high, middle, and low scores on the scales? Are there published norms?
Means and standard deviations for the measures have been provided in their representative articles (see “correct citations” response above) and may serve as a guide to determine percentile ranks for given scores. An important caution; however, is that these are not considered to be published norms. In general, one should be extremely wary of using canned “norms” because it is not obvious that one could actually find a population to be a representative subset of one’s present sample. An alternative is to use local norms, self-developed. For example, if conveying the scores to members of a class, relate the score of each individual to the means and standard deviations derived from the class itself.
Our general recommendation is the use of continuous scale scores (rather than categories) in your analyses. If you do need to use categories, our recommendation is that you provide a theoretical basis for the use of quartiles, quintiles, or other uses of percentile ranks for categorizing scores into high and low levels.
Do you distribute any observational (laboratory or home) temperament measures?
We do not. Dr. Rothbart has, however, been involved with the creation of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Batteries (LAB-Tab). Versions of the LAB-Tab for different-aged children are available from a webpage maintained by Jeff Gagne: LAB-Tab website.
I am trying to access a questionnaire or scoresheet from the download page and it doesn’t appear to be downloading! Any suggestions?
This problem emerged in 2021. It appears to be an issue associated with Word documents and web browser security updates. The problem appears to be manifest in some browsers, but not others. Also, it is often the case that the files are downloading, but not opening in your browser.
We recommend using Firefox. If you do so, after clicking on the link, watch the download icon in the top right of the screen (this looks like an arrow facing downward into a “tray”). If a file is downloading, it will briefly turn to a circle. When this is done, click on the download icon and you should be able to open the file.
If you are using Chrome, try right-clicking on the link and select “open link in a new window”. When the new window opens, refresh it, and the downloaded file should be available at the bottom left of your screen.
If neither of these options work, please email Sam Putnam ([email protected]), tell him exactly which files you need and he can send them by email.