New York Longitudinal Study done by Chess et al. is one of the landmark studies in the field of child and adolescent mental health. It laid emphasis on unique dispositions of infants and led to conceptualization of the construct of “temperament.”[1] They described what is known as “goodness of fit,” a framework that helps in the assessment of a child in a given environmental context. The interactions between child and environment were formulated within this framework. Transactions between child and parents influenced each other's behavior bidirectionally.[2,3]
Goodness of fit is at the heart of infant–caregiver attachment and various factors such as cultural values influence it.[4] When environmental opportunities and demands are in tune with the individual's capacities, it leads to optimal development in a progressive direction. Conversely, when there is a mismatch, it leads to maladaptive functioning.[3]
Every child is unique, and environment shapes a child's developing personality. Since parents constitute the immediate environment of a child, they play an important role in regulating child's behavior and providing supportive care when it is warranted. Like the fit of a lock and its key must be right for the combination to function, the fit of individual temperament and environment must be right for healthy outcomes. When parents are sensitive to a child's temperament, especially in the early childhood, long-term favorable consequences are bound to ensue. In the painting [Figure 1], this is depicted by a family functioning as a unit, where the parents are by the side of a child aiding him/her in his/her attempt to open the door to forever happiness.
Figure 1.
Goodness of fit
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
REFERENCES
- 1.Chess S, Thomas A, Rutter M, Birch HG. Interaction of temperament and environment in the production of behavioral disturbances in children. Am J Psychiatry. 1963;120:142–8. doi: 10.1176/ajp.120.2.142. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.McClowry SG, Rodriguez ET, Koslowitz R. Temperament-based intervention: Re-examining goodness of fit. Eur J Dev Sci. 2008;2:120–35. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Chess S, Thomas A. Philadelphia: Bruner/Mazel; 1999. Goodness of Fit: Clinical Applications for Infancy through Adult Life. [Google Scholar]
- 4.Berk LE. Child Development. 9th ed. Noida: Pearson India Education Services; 2017. Emotional development; pp. 426–7. [Google Scholar]