Temperament is a variable of the person who interacts with environmental variables, and can influence children's developmental trajectories. Studies on emotional and social development have highlighted the relevance of temperament as a variable that fundamentally influence the adjustment healthy individual. The aim of the present study was to systematically review empirical studies, published from 2007 to 2012, on the temperament and its relationship with emotional and behavioral problems in children in pre-school age. We selected 18 empirical studies indexed in PubMed, PsycINFO and Scielo data. The results showed, predominantly, direct associations between temperament factors and specific types of emotional and internalized and externalized behavior problems, in pre-school children. The temperament with withdrawal symptoms, shyness and fear traits were associated with internalized problems. Otherwise, the temperament with dificulty trait and without behavior innhibitory control showed associations with externalized problems. In addition, child variables, as pre-term birth, autism disorder, and high level of salivary cortisol, and psychosocial risk variables, as low socio-economic level and maternal depression, were moderator factors of the relationships between temperament traits and behavior problems.
Temperament; behavioral problems; preschoolers