Temperament and Personality in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Temperament and personality in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reflect a complex interplay between innate emotional reactivity, attentional regulation and the emergence of enduring behavioural patterns. From infancy, individuals who later receive an ASD diagnosis often display distinct temperamental markers such as heightened emotional reactivity, atypical activity levels or atypical attentional control. Over time these early traits interact with environmental and developmental factors to shape personality features, influencing social styles, coping strategies and vulnerability to co-occurring conditions such as anxiety or mood dysregulation. Research has shown that specific temperamental dimensions—such as behavioural inhibition, effortful control and negative affectivity—can predict later adaptive functioning and the severity of core autistic features. Equally, personality frameworks that account for neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness offer insight into heterogeneity within the autism spectrum and inform tailored interventions. A thorough understanding of how early temperament evolves into stable personality traits in ASD is essential for early identification, prognostic assessment and the development of personalised support strategies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A longitudinal cohort study conducted in Japan examined associations between sleep quality, early temperament and later ASD diagnosis. Infants at one month of age were assessed for sleep patterns and temperamental traits such as intensity of crying and mood stability. Findings indicated that prolonged daytime sleep and intense crying episodes were linked to increased risk of ASD diagnosis by age three, with notable sex-specific effects: female infants exhibiting poor mood regulation showed a particularly elevated risk. These results underscore the potential of early behavioural markers for guiding preventive approaches and early intervention planning.

Temperament and Personality in Autism Spectrum Disorder publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in temperament and personality in autism spectrum disorder across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Temperament: Innate individual differences in emotional reactivity, activity level and self-regulation that appear early in life.

Personality: Relatively stable patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that develop from the interaction of temperament and life experiences.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A neurodevelopmental condition characterised by qualitative differences in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviours.

Behavioural inhibition: A temperamental tendency to withdraw or react negatively to novel situations or unfamiliar people.

Effortful control: The capacity to voluntarily regulate attention and inhibit predominant responses in favour of subdominant ones.

References

1. Sleep quality and temperament in association with autism spectrum disorder among infants in Japan. Communications Medicine (2023).
2. Autism spectrum disorder and personality disorders: How do clinicians carry out a differential diagnosis?. Autism (2023).
3. Using the Infant Sibling-Design to Explore Associations Between Autism and ADHD Traits in Probands and Temperament in the Younger Siblings. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2023).
4. Personality as a mediator of autistic traits and internalizing symptoms in two community samples. BMC Psychology (2022).