Investigation of the early prediction of infants’ temperament based on infant cries evoked by external pain stimuli

This study identified the correlations between the temperament types of infants and their cries evoked by external pain stimuli. We examined infant cries evoked by vaccinations and analyse the volume and types of audio frequency fluctuation of the cries. The Infant Temperament Questionnaire is filled out by the parents. Statistical analyses of t-tests and ANOVA were performed using the software SPSS 16.0. The intensity of infants’ reactions varied significantly with their home environments (p < .01). Infants from noisier home environments reacted more intensely. Whether infants were breastfed significantly correlated with the rhythmicity of their physiological cycle (p = .046). Breastfed infants indicated a higher level of rhythmicity. The number of seconds taken by the parent to comfort the infant significantly correlated with the infants’ persistence (p = .029). The types of cries significantly correlated with infants’ distractibility (p = .028). Infants whose cries became softer were more difficult to distract. Infants whose cries became louder or remained steady were easier to distract. This study found that infants’ cries evoked by external pain stimuli can be used to predict the home environment, the quality of mood and the types of infants’ temperament.