Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R) Test
How the Scales are Structured
Who Usually Takes This Test?
See How You Compare
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.
Example Questions From the Test
- Almost always untrue
- Usually untrue
- Sometimes true, sometimes untrue
- Usually true
- Almost always true
- Almost always not true
- Usually not true
- Sometimes true, sometimes not true
- Usually true
- Almost always true
- Almost always untrue
- Usually untrue
- Sometimes true, sometimes untrue
- Usually true
- Almost always true
Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R) Test - Description and methodology of the test
Designed for adults who want a structured view of a young person’s everyday self-regulation, the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised (EATQ-R) Test focuses on attention, inhibition, activity level, and persistence. This early adolescent temperament questionnaire organizes observations about homework, waiting, distraction, and impulse control into a profile that is easier to reflect on and discuss.
What This Assessment Explores
Items cover everyday demands such as staying with homework, delaying impulses, resisting distraction, completing plans, and shifting attention. A familiar adult can use these patterns to describe tendencies across situations rather than a fixed ability. This adolescent temperament assessment structures reflection on study habits, behavior, and emotional control.
The result profile contains three displayed scales:
- Inhibitory Control / Attention (1-5) indicates impulse inhibition and sustained attention: Low control 1-2.7; Moderate control 2.8-4; High control 4.1-5.
- Activity Regulation (1-5) indicates management of activity, impulses, and goal-directed behavior: Low 1-2; Moderate 2.1-3.7; High 3.8-5.
- Effortful Control (1-5) indicates deliberate regulation, planning, and resisting dominant responses: Low 1-2.5; Moderate 2.6-3.8; High 3.9-5.
Methodology and Scientific Basis
This third-person observer-rating questionnaire uses five response choices ranging from almost always untrue or not true to almost always true, with a middle option for sometimes true and sometimes untrue statements. Items describe situations such as postponing difficult work, losing a thought after interruption, or switching activities before finishing.
A dimensional approach guides the EATQ-R temperament test, which is conceptually consistent with the published EATQ-R described by Ellis and Rothbart in 2001, the early-adolescent measure described by Capaldi and Rothbart in 1992, and psychometric evaluations reported by Muris and Meesters in 2009. Latham and colleagues examined the revised questionnaire’s factor structure in 2020. The online form is not a direct adaptation of the full instruments, so those studies do not establish identical reliability, norms, or validity for this brief version.
Results appear as dimensional profiles, with each scale interpreted by its definition. Higher scores indicate stronger regulation within each scale’s definition. Observer ratings are sensitive to memory, expectations, and current context, so the result is best used to identify patterns for reflection rather than to make a clinical determination.
- Ellis, L. K., & Rothbart, M. K. (2001). Revision of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire. Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Muris, P., & Meesters, C. (2009). Reactive and regulative temperament in youths: Psychometric evaluation of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 7-19. 10.1007/s10862-008-9089-x
- Capaldi, D. M., & Rothbart, M. K. (1992). Development and validation of an early adolescent temperament measure. Journal of Early Adolescence, 12(2), 153-173. 10.1177/0272431692012002002
- Latham, M. D., Dudgeon, P., Yap, M. B. H., Simmons, J. G., Byrne, M. L., Schwartz, O. S., Ivie, E., Whittle, S., & Allen, N. B. (2020). Factor structure of the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised. Assessment, 27(7), 1547-1561. 10.1177/1073191119831789
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