That might be a yes and no kind of thing, the American Staffordshire Terriers are bred as family companions. Dogs that have been bred as companion dogs for several generations are not as aggressive. Most of the dogs I have met that were bred as Staffordshire Terriers were not vicious dogs but really quite sweet. They are pretty active strong dogs and do need a strict owner. You can still purchase pit bulls which are just bred to fight and be mean that are not really Staffordshire Terriers. A Staffordshire from one of the AKC pet dog bloodlines would get eaten alive by a real backstreet fighting pit bull. Sure Staffordshire Terriers are bred from the same original stock but are changing in temperament. It is developing like the English Bulldog, which while retaining the form has lost the function. I may be wrong but that has been my observation from reading about and meeting registered Staffordshire Terriers. I have also run across some very nasty dogs that the owners have proudly just called pit bulls.p>
"While the pit bull is thoroughly English and Irish in its origin, it was in America that the dog first was officially "registered". The pit bull soon had two single-breed registries, the UKC and the forerunner of the ADBA. These registries exist to this day, and, for the most part, continue to register pure pit bulldogs. [The UKC allows American Staffordshires to be registered as "pit bulls" which, in recent years, has had a tremendous impact of the breed as registered by the UKC. For the most part, UKC and AKC registered dogs cannot be differentiated, as they carry primarily the same blood. UKC dogs are now bred almost exclusively for show and pet purposes with little thought given to form, function or working soundness."
http://www.bbwg.com/CM/Newsletters/december-bbwgboardreport.pdf
One dog may be dual registered as an AmStaff with AKC and a Pit Bull with UKC, same dog. UKC is a respectable club which is older than the AKC. Amstaffs were started from Colby bred Pit Bulls. Both clubs breed for temperment as well as conformation.
In all dogs shows, AKC or UKC, one is disqualified for a dog that fights or bites. So temperment is critical. In some obedience exercises the dogs line up within inches of each other and must hold a sit or stay for three to five minutes unattended.
Character shows in the obedience ring as well as in other performance events.