The ECBQ grew from an effort to supplement the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ), which was developed by Dr. Hill Goldsmith at the University of Wisconsin and described in the Child Development article, “Studying temperament via construction of the Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire” (Goldsmith, 1996).The new instrument includes scales developed by Dr. Rothbart and her students that measure several aspects of temperament not included in the TBAQ.
A preliminary form of the ECBQ was given to 138 parents of toddlers in 1998 and 1999. Based on the findings from that effort, existing scales were revised and new scales were added. A second experimental form was administered to 320 parents in 2000. Analysis of this form resulted in the final version of the ECBQ, which contains 18 scales and 201 items. Because the new measure only overlaps slightly with the TBAQ, the instrument has been named The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) to avoid confusion. Short (107 items; 18 scales) and Very Short (36 items; 3 broad scales) forms of the ECBQ were developed in 2009.
In 2011, Jennifer Vu adapted the Very Short Form of the ECBQ for use with preschool teachers. Her adaptation is available on our download page.
The following non-English versions of the ECBQ are available for download:
- An Arabic version of the ECBQ, translated by Andrea Berger at Ben-Gurion University of Negev
- A Bulgarian version of the ECBQ Very Short Form (pdf). Translated by Victoria Georgieva Ivaylova
- A Chinese version of the ECBQ, translated by Dr. Qinmei Xu and the Research Group in Child Development, Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, China
- A Chinese (Taiwan usage) version of the ECBQ, translated by Keng-Ling Lay, Su-Ying Huang, and Pi-Ju Liu, of National Taiwan University
- A Czech version of the ECBQ Very Short Form, translated by Miloň Potměšil and Petra Potměšilová of Palacky University in Olomouc
- A Danish version of the ECBQ Short Form, translated by Marianne Thode Krogh, supervised by Mette Væver.
- A Dutch version of the ECBQ, translated by Renee de Kruif, Tine Willekens, and Leen de Schuymer et al. at Ghent University (Belgium).
- An Estonian version of the ECBQ Very Short Form (pdf). Translated by Astra Schults.
- A Finnish version of the ECBQ, translated by Katri Raikkonen-Talvitie and the Developmental Psychology Research Group of University of Helsinki
- A French (European) version of the ECBQ Very Short Form, translated by Louise Goupil
- A French (Quebec) version of the ECBQ, translated by J. Laurin, M. P. Gosselin, and D.R. Forman
- German versions of the ECBQ Standard and Very Short Forms, translated by Conny Kirchhoff
- Hebrew version of the ECBQ Very Short Form, translated by Ariel Knafo
- Hungarian versions of the ECBQ Short and Very Short Forms, translated by Krisztina Lakatos
- Italian versions of the ECBQ Standard, Short, and Very Short Forms, translated by Rosario Montirosso, Patrizia Cozzi, Menesini Ersilia, and Pamela Calussi
- A Japanese version of the ECBQ, translated by Astuko Nakagawa
- A Korean version of the ECBQ, translated by Ji Young Lim and Yun-Jin Bae
- Lithuanian versions of the ECBQ, translated by Dalia Nasvytiene
- A Maltese version of the ECBQ, translated by Ingrid Grech Lanfranco
- Norwegian (Bokmal) translations of select ECBQ scales, translated independently by (A) Elhame Mohsenian and Zahra Tabibi; and by (B) Vebeke Ottesen, Harald Janson, and Ane Naerde
- Persian versions of the ECBQ Short Form, translated by Elhame Mohsenian and Zahra Tabibi (first version), and Arezoo Ghoreishizadeh, Nasser Aminabadi, and Mohammadali Ghoreishizadeh (alternate version)
- A Polish version of the ECBQ, translated by Malgorzata Stepien-Nycz at Jagiellonian University
- Portuguese (Brazilian) versions of the ECBQ Standard, Short and Very Short Forms , translated by Vivian Caroline Klein and Maria Beatriz Martins Linhares
- A Russian version of the ECBQ, translated by Helena Slobodskaya
- A Spanish (Chilean) version of the ECBQ Very Short Form, translated by Chamarrita Farkas at The Psychology School of the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile
- A Spanish (European) version of the Standard ECBQ, translated by Miguel Carrasco and revised by Carmen Gonzalez-Salinas, with Short and Very Short forms derived by Miguel Carrasco
- A Spanish (Mexican) version of the ECBQ, translated by Vianey Mendez
- Swedish versions of the ECBQ Standard, Short and Very Short Forms, translated by Eric Zander
- A Tagalog version of the ECBQ Short Form, translated by Lionbridge Organization under the direction of Nick Hays.
- A Taiwanese version of the ECBQ Short Form, translated by Pei-Ling Wang at the University of Taipei
- A Turkish version of the ECBQ, translated by Ibrahim Acar and Emine Ahmetoglu
The Questionnaire
The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire has been designed to assess temperament in children between the ages of 18 and 36 months.The ECBQ assesses the following dimensions of temperament:
- Activity Level/Energy: Level (rate and intensity) of gross motor activity, including rate and extent of locomotion.
- Attentional Focusing: Sustained duration of orienting on an object of attention; resisting distraction.
- Attentional Shifting: The ability to transfer attentional focus from one activity/task to another.
- Cuddliness: Child’s expression of enjoyment in and molding of the body to being held by a caregiver.
- Discomfort: Amount of negative affect related to sensory qualities of stimulation, including intensity, rate or complexity of light, sound, texture.
- Fear: Negative affect, including unease, worry, or nervousness related to anticipated
pain or distress and/or potentially threatening situations; startle to sudden events. - Frustration: Negative affect related to interruption of ongoing tasks or goal blocking.
- High-intensity Pleasure: Pleasure or enjoyment related to situations involving
high stimulus intensity, rate, complexity, novelty and incongruity. - Impulsivity: Speed of response initiation.
- Inhibitory Control: The capacity to stop, moderate, or refrain from a behavior under instruction.
- Low-intensity Pleasure: Pleasure or enjoyment related to situations involving low stimulus intensity, rate, complexity, novelty and incongruity.
- Motor Activation: Repetitive small-motor movements; fidgeting.
- Perceptual Sensitivity: Detection of slight, low intensity stimuli from the external environment.
- Positive Anticipation: Excitement about expected pleasurable activities.
- Sadness: Tearfulness or lowered mood related to exposure to personal suffering, disappointment, object loss, loss of approval, or response to other’s suffering.
- Shyness: Slow or inhibited approach and/or discomfort in social situations involving novelty or uncertainty.
- Sociability: Seeking and taking pleasure in interactions with others.
- Soothability: Rate of recovery from peak distress, excitement, or general arousal.
For questions regarding the ECBQ, contact Samuel Putnam at [email protected] (postal mail: Department of Psychology, Bowdoin College, 6900 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011)
Please note that these questionnaires are to be used for research purposes only. If you are interested in acquiring current versions of these instruments, we request that you first complete our request form, providing us with a brief description of your plans for use of the measures. Following the completion of your research, we request that you contact us to inform us of the results of your project as they relate to the temperament scales.In this way, we hope to coordinate attempts at validation of the scales.
Documentation: