学前儿童努力控制的发展轨迹与父母养育的关系：一项多水平分析

通过3年追踪研究, 采用问卷法考察了474名学前儿童努力控制发展变化的轨迹, 以及初始父母养育方式对其发展水平和发展速率的影响。多水平分析的结果表明：(1)学前儿童的努力控制呈线性增长, 其发展水平和增长速度均存在明显的个体差异, 努力控制初始水平较高的儿童, 其增长速度也较快。(2)初始的父母鼓励与接纳对儿童努力控制的最后发展水平有促进作用, 而父母的拒绝与惩罚则起反作用。(3)父亲鼓励与接纳能加速儿童努力控制的平均增长速率, 而母亲鼓励与接纳则会延缓其平均增长速率。(4)初始的父亲养育方式可分别解释儿童努力控制发展水平和发展速率10%和2%的变异, 初始的母亲养育方式可分别解释其14%和3%的变异, 父母养育方式累计可分别解释其19%和10%的变异。

A Multilevel Analysis of the Developmental Trajectory of Preschoolers’ Effortful Control and Prediction by Parental Parenting Style

Learning to voluntarily suppress impulsivity and activate behavior in accord with social norms and expectations is one of greatest developmental task for preschoolers. Effortful control is the core component of self-regulation and refers to an individual’s ability to inhibit dominant behavior and perform subdominant behavior, as well as modulate physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses during this process. Most of previous research has found that early effortful control plays an important role in human life. It can improve individuals’ physiological and mental health, socio-economic status, and reduce their maladjusted behavior. Although existing research has suggested that preschoolers’ effortful control increases with age, the developmental trajectory of effortful control during preschool years needs further clarification. Whether the developmental trajectory during preschool years is linear or nonlinear, and whether the initial developmental level and change speed are related need to be further studied. Furthermore, the contribution of parenting beliefs and behavior to individual difference in the development of effortful control is very important for educational prevention. This longitudinal study explored the developmental trajectory of preschoolers’ effortful control and the contribution of parental parenting style to it. Four hundred and seventy four preschoolers (264 boys and 210 girls, Mage=50.92 months, SD = 4.21 at the first stage) and their parents participated in this study. Both fathers and mothers reported parenting beliefs and behavior and mother also rated children’s effortful control when children were 4, 5 and 6 years old. Multilevel analysis indicated that: (1) Children’s effortful control increased in a linear fashion during preschool years, and there are significant individual difference in the increasing linear slope and the final development level of effortful control. Children who exhibited higher initial effortful control exhibited a steeper increase in effortful control over time. (2) Children whose parents displayed encouragement and acceptance at T1 exhibited higher effortful control at T3. Children whose parents reported more rejection and punishment at T1 exhibited lower effortful control in at T3. (3) Paternal encouragement and acceptance predicted a steeper increase in the development of children’s effortful control, whereas maternal encouragement and acceptance predicted a slower increase in the development of effortful control. (4) Paternal parenting beliefs and behavior at T1 explained 10% and 2% of the variance in T3 and slope of their children’s effortful control during the preschool years, respectively, while mothers’ beliefs/behavior explained 14% and 3% of the analogous variance. In combination, fathers’ and mothers’ beliefs/behavior explained 19% of the variance in effortful control at age 6 and 10% of the variance in the slope of effortful control.