Introduction

Temperament affects olfaction in cross-sectional studies. However, it is not clear whether it is linked to olfactory development. Here we examined the links between temperament and olfaction over a nearly 2-year period, expecting that children showing higher levels of negative affectivity would exhibit greater odor awareness across repeated testing. As a subsidiary aim, we investigated whether olfactory scores differ as a function of olfactory performance at a younger age.

Methods

The participants were 73 Czech children (mean age = 5.8 years). Their olfactory abilities were assessed using the Sniffin’ Sticks, and odor awareness was evaluated with the Children’s Olfactory Behaviors in Everyday Life Questionnaire. These were reassessed 21 months later. Mothers provided information on the children’s temperament by completing the Short Form of the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire at the same interval.

Results

Children’s temperament was not found to relate to olfactory development over a 21-month period. Odor identification and awareness, but not odor discrimination and threshold, differed as a function of scores achieved at an earlier age.

Conclusions

Odor identification and awareness predict themselves over a 21-month period. Links between temperament and olfaction may be only beginning to form at preschool age.

Implications

While this study suggests that temperament does not play a role in olfactory development, longitudinal studies over a broader timespan are needed to determine the robustness of this finding.

中文翻译：

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气质不能预测儿童嗅觉能力和气味意识的发展：一项纵向研究

介绍

在横断面研究中，气质会影响嗅觉。但是，尚不清楚它是否与嗅觉发育有关。在这里，我们研究了将近2年的时间里，气质与嗅觉之间的联系，期望表现出较高负面情绪的孩子在反复测试中会表现出更大的气味意识。作为辅助目标，我们调查了嗅觉得分是否随年龄的增长而异。

方法

参加者为73名捷克儿童（平均年龄= 5.8岁）。使用嗅探棒（Sniffin's Sticks）评估他们的嗅觉能力，并通过《儿童日常问卷中的儿童嗅觉行为》评估他们的气味意识。这些在21个月后重新评估。母亲通过在相同的时间间隔内填写《儿童行为问卷的简短形式》来提供有关儿童气质的信息。

结果

未发现儿童的气质与21个月内的嗅觉发育有关。气味的识别和意识，但气味的辨别力和阈值没有差异，这取决于在较早年龄获得的分数。

结论

气味识别和意识可以预测自己在21个月内的状况。气质与嗅觉之间的联系可能只是在学龄前才开始形成。

含义

虽然这项研究表明气质在嗅觉发育中不起作用，但仍需要在更宽的时间范围内进行纵向研究，以确定这一发现的稳健性。