Defining the developmental parameters of temper loss in early childhood: implications for developmental psychopathology

Community study using item-response modeling to map normative vs atypical "temper loss" in early childhood. Most preschoolers (83.7%) had tantrums sometimes but only 8.6% had daily tantrums; frequent, prolonged, out-of-context or self-injurious tantrums fall toward the clinical end. Provides an evidence-based way to distinguish ordinary "big emotions" from warning signs.