PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Michelle Downes AU - Michelle de Haan AU - Tess O’Leary AU - Paul T Telfer AU - Fenella J Kirkham TI - Temperament in preschool children with sickle cell anaemia AID - 10.1136/archdischild-2018-315054 DP - 2018 Dec 21 TA - Archives of Disease in Childhood 4099 - http://adc.bmj.com/content/early/2018/12/20/archdischild-2018-315054.short 4100 - http://adc.bmj.com/content/early/2018/12/20/archdischild-2018-315054.full AB - Aims Few studies have investigated the potential impact of sickle cell anaemia (SCA) on temperament. The aim of the current study was to investigate temperament in preschool children with SCA and to establish the reliability of the Children’s Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ) in this population.Methods The CBQ, a parent-report measure of temperament, was completed by parents of 21 preschool children with SCA and a control group of parents of typically developing children, matched for age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.Results A significant difference between groups was identified for the dimension of negative affectivity only, with specific differences observed in the discomfort subdomain. Patients with a greater number of hospital admissions in the previous year were reported to have higher levels of discomfort.Conclusions Preschool children with SCA are reported to have higher rates of negative affectivity, particularly discomfort. Future research is required to investigate the potential influence of dysregulated negative emotions and discomfort on disease management and quality of life throughout childhood.