The relations of effortful control and reactive control to children's externalizing problems: a longitudinal assessment

In this study, we examined the role of negative emotionality as a moderator of the relations of effortful control and overcontrol (versus undercontrol) with children's externalizing problem behaviors; we also examined the longitudinal relations among these variables. Teachers' and parents' reports of children's negative emotionality, effortful control, overcontrol and externalizing problem behaviors were obtained at T1 (N=199; M age=89.51 months) and again 2 (T2) and 4 years (T3) later. In addition, children's effortful control was assessed with an observed measure of persistence. In a T3 concurrent structural equation model, effortful control, but not overcontrol, was negatively related to children's T3 externalizing problem behaviors. In regression analyses, the negative relation between T3 effortful control and externalizing problem behaviors was strongest at high levels of T3 negative emotionality. In the best-fitting longitudinal structural equation model, both T1 effortful control and T1 overcontrol negatively predicted externalizing problems at T1, whereas T3 effortful control (but not T3 overcontrol) was significantly negatively related to T3 externalizing problem behaviors when controlling for T1 externalizing problem behaviors.     

Parenting, coparenting, and effortful control in preschoolers

This study investigated the relations among parenting, coparenting, and effortful control in preschoolers. The sample included 89 families with 2 parents and their firstborn 36-month-old children. Information was obtained by means of observation and parent-report questionnaires. In general, maternal parenting, paternal parenting, and coparenting were related to effortful control. Effortful control was more strongly predicted from parenting and coparenting when the same measurement method (observation or parent reports) was used. For both observation and parent reports, coparenting contributed to effortful control over and above maternal and paternal parenting. The results indicate the importance of adding indicators of triadic family processes to the study of parenting and young children's effortful control.     

Effortful control: factor structure and relation to externalizing and internalizing behaviors

Effortful control, a temperamentally based ability to inhibit a dominant response and activate a subdominant response, was assessed on 3 occasions using a comprehensive, age-appropriate behavioral battery in this 4-year longitudinal study of children (N = 103) from toddlerhood to early school age. The focus was twofold: to explore the structure of effortful control in a normally developing sample and to examine the relations between effortful control and adaptive functioning. Exploratory factor analyses supported the contention that effortful control is a complex, multidimensional construct with longitudinally stable factors. Effortful control was also significantly associated with mother-reported total behavior problems in a nonlinear fashion, with lower and higher levels of effortful control contributing to higher total problem scores. These findings have implications for the assessment of temperament in children and, most importantly, for the study of nonlinear contributions of temperament to early childhood behaviors.     

Examining the dimensionality of effortful control in preschool children and its relation to academic and socioemotional indicators

Effortful control (EC) is an important developmental construct, associated with socioemotional growth, academic performance, and psychopathology. EC is defined as the ability to execute goal-directed behavior to inhibit or delay a prepotent response in favor of a subdominant response. Extant research indicates that EC may be multidimensional. Confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 234 preschoolers was used to determine if tasks designed to measure EC were best described by hot (affectively salient) and cool (affectively neutral) dimensions or by a single factor. Analyses revealed that EC is best described by a single factor, even when variance associated with children's language skills was removed. This EC factor was strongly related to measures of academic performance and significantly less related to measures of socioemotional development.     

Effortful control and externalizing problems in young adults

The present study evaluates the relationship between effortful control (EC) and externalizing psychopathology in young adults. EC, the capacity to delay immediate impulses in favor of long-term goals, has been robustly linked to externalizing behaviors in children and adolescents. However, such data is limited in adults, and mechanisms underlying this relationship have yet to be evaluated. We hypothesized that the effect of low EC on greater externalizing problems would be mediated by elevated psychological distress. In total 236 undergraduate students completed the EC subscale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Externalizing Spectrum Inventory (ESI). The ESI was found to have four factors representing Callous Aggression, Impulsive Urgency, prosocial control, and Substance Abuse. The degree to which low trait EC manifested in increased Callous Aggression, Impulsive Urgency and decreased prosocial behavior was mediated by elevated psychological distress. However, EC was not related to Substance Abuse. These data indicate that EC plays an important role in shaping psychological and social adjustment in adulthood.     

The relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing or externalizing problems during adolescence

The authors examined the relation between dimensions of attachment and internalizing and externalizing problems in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents (n = 62) who completed the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ; J. Feeney, P. Noller, & M. Hanrahan, 1994) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach, 1991). In total, the ASQ dimensions accounted for 48% of the variance in scores on the broad YSR internalizing problem scale. Three ASQ dimensions (confidence, discomfort with closeness, preoccupation with relationships) accounted for unique variance. Girls exhibited higher problem scores than did boys even when the authors considered ASQ scores. The authors observed comparable results for the anxious/depressed subscales. The confidence, discomfort, and preoccupation dimensions predicted scores on the withdrawn subscale. The authors observed weak relations or no relations between results on the ASQ and the externalizing problems scale. In conclusion, dimensions of attachment are powerful predictors of internalizing problems in adolescents. The authors discussed the potential cause and effect relationship between attachment variables and self-reported problems.     

Longitudinal relations among exuberance,externalizing behaviors,and attentional bias to reward: the mediating role of effortful control

The present study examined the associations between temperamental exuberance during toddlerhood (20 months), attention bias towards reward at the end of kindergarten (76 months), and externalizing behaviors across the kindergarten year. Moreover, we examined the role of effortful control at 48 months on the relation between early exuberance and attention bias. Attention bias towards reward was positively predicted by exuberance, negatively predicted by effortful control, and positively related to externalizing problems. Finally, the longitudinal path between exuberance and attention bias to reward was mediated by effortful control – such that higher toddler exuberance led to increased attention bias towards reward by way of lower effortful control. These results extend the attention bias and socioemotional functioning literature and have implications for the identification of children at risk for behavioral problems.     

The genetic architecture of effortful control and its interplay with psychological adjustment in adolescence

The role of genes and environment in the relation between self-regulation and adjustment is unclear. We investigated, with the twin design, genetic and environmental components of the association between effortful control (EC) and indicators of psychological adjustment using adolescents’ and parents’ reports for 774 twins. Genetic factors explained a substantial proportion of variance in EC (58%) and the outcome variables of optimism (55%), general self-esteem (45%), happiness (48%), and self-derogation (29%). Perceived competence had no significant genetic component. Aside from perceived competence, uncorrelated with EC, phenotypic correlations of EC with measures of well-being/adjustment were moderate and predominantly explained by shared genetic effects. Results suggest a significant genetic contribution in adolescents’ EC and in its relation to various aspects of adjustment.     

The relations of effortful control and ego control to children's resiliency and social functioning

The relations of effortful control and ego control to children's (mean age = 137 months) resiliency, social status, and social competence were examined concurrently (Time 3) and over time. Adults reported on the constructs, and a behavioral measure of persistence was obtained. At Time 3, resiliency mediated the unique relations of both effortful and reactive control to social status, and effortful control directly predicted socially appropriate behavior. Negative emotionality moderated the relations of ego and effortful control to socially appropriate behavior. When levels of the variables 2 years prior were accounted for, all relations held at Time 3 except that effortful control did not predict resiliency (even though it was the stronger predictor at Time 3) and ego control directly predicted socially appropriate behavior.     

Stereotyping of sex role in preschoolers in relation to age,family structure,and parental sexism

Forty-eight boys and 48 girls aged between 32 and 64 months were tested for stereotyping of sex role using a toy-preference technique. Scores for overt and covert measures of sexism and awareness of the dimension of sex-role stereotyping were also obtained from both parents of each child, as well as information on the target child's siblings. Analysis indicated the developmental nature of stereotyping of sex role in both boys and girls and the surprising finding that older siblings are much more important in the development of such stereotyping than are sexist parents. The influence of the child upon parental attitudes is also apparent. These findings and their interrelationships are discussed, suggesting new directions for research.The author wishes to thank Ann Barry, Director of the Glen Kindergarten, for her assistance in developing the materials used here and her extensive testing of the children included in this study. My thanks are also due to Professor D. J. Drinkwater and Drs. R. Boyd, S. Phillips, and J. Sweller for their assistance in grading the stereotyped toy illustrations used in testing the children.     

The structure of the self-concept and its relation to psychological adjustment

Research on the relation between the structure of the self-concept and psychological adjustment has produced seemingly inconsistent findings. Some research suggests that greater pluralism in self-concept structure enhances adjustment, whereas other research suggests that greater unity in the structure enhances adjustment. Four studies examined the relations among measures of self-concept structure and their relations with adjustment. The measures of self-concept structure included two that we viewed as reflecting self-concept pluralism (self-complexity and self-concept compartmentalization) and four that we viewed as reflecting self-concept unity (self-concept differentiation, self-concept clarity, self-discrepancies, and the average correlation among participants' self-aspects). The measures of self-concept pluralism were unrelated to one another, were unrelated to the measures of self-concept unity, and were unrelated to the measures of adjustment. The measures of self-concept unity were moderately related to one another and were moderately related to the measures of adjustment.     

Developmental changes in the relations between inhibitory control and externalizing problems during early childhood

Deficits in executive function, and in particular, reduced capacity to inhibit a dominant action, are a risk factor for externalizing problems (EP). Inhibitory control (IC) develops in the later preschool and early childhood periods, such that IC might not regulate EP in toddlers and younger preschoolers. Aggression was observed during peer play for 66 girls and 49 boys, from 2.75 to 6.00 years (M=4.14, S.D.=0.78). Mothers reported on children's IC and EP concurrently and 12 months later, and concurrent teacher reports of EP were also collected. Factor analysis supported aggregation of mother and teacher‐reported EP and observed physical aggression into one measure of externalizing difficulties. Mothers reported lower IC for children with more externalizing difficulties, and the inverse relation between IC and externalizing difficulties strengthened over the toddler, preschool and kindergarten periods. Similar relations between IC and EP were observed 12 months later, and increases in IC also predicted reductions in EP over 1 year. These data demonstrate that the preschool years are a dynamic period of developmental change in the relations between IC and EP. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neurocognitive development and externalizing problems: the role of inhibitory control deficits from 4 to 6 years

Executive processes have been posited as important regulators of externalizing problems (EP), but there has been little research on the relation between executive dysfunction and EP in early childhood. During the preschool period, maturation of the prefrontostriatal circuitry parallels increases in inhibitory control (IC). Poor IC development could result in elevated levels of aggressive, disruptive, and impulsive behavior. In this investigation, the development of the relation between IC and EP was examined in preschool and early elementary school children using the Day/Night and Tapping tasks. Children with more EP made more incorrect responses on both IC tasks, consistently across age and sex. The associations between EP and response latencies differed across children, however, with longer latencies on the Tapping task being most characteristic for boys with high levels of EP. This association was not apparent for girls. Two prominent aspects of early EP, aggressive and inattentive behavior, showed only weak unique associations with IC performance. These findings imply that diminished IC accompanies elevated EP as early as the preschool years, and that this decrement persists into the elementary school-age years for both girls and boys, and that accuracy and response latency may confer different information about the development of IC.     

Relations of child effortful control to personality,well-being and parenting

This study examined effortful control and its relations to personality, parenting and well-being in a community sample of Russian preschool children (N = 365, 46% girls) using parent-reported effortful control scale from the very short form of the children's behaviour questionnaire, the inventory of child individual differences–short version, the Alabama parenting questionnaire—preschool revision, the self-reporting questionnaire, and parent and teacher reports on the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. The findings confirmed the four-factor structure of effortful control, including inhibitory control, attentional control, low-intensity pleasure and perceptual sensitivity. Girls demonstrated higher scores than boys on effortful control, perceptual sensitivity, inhibitory control and low-intensity pleasure. Older children scored higher than younger on inhibitory control and perceptual sensitivity and lower on low-intensity pleasure. Gender and age accounted for less than 3% of the variance in effortful control. Effortful control was associated with personality traits of conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness, and with positive emotions and low-negative affect. Higher effortful control was associated with higher levels of prosocial behaviour and lower levels of externalising and internalising problems. Structural modelling showed that the effect of parenting on child prosocial and problem behaviours may be mediated by effortful control.     

Developing mechanisms of temperamental effortful control

Studies of temperament from early childhood to adulthood have demonstrated inverse relationships between negative affectivity and effortful control. Effortful control is also positively related to the development of conscience and appears as a protective factor in the development of behavior disorders. In this study, the development of attentional mechanisms underlying effortful control was investigated in 2- to 3-year-old children, as indexed by their performance in a) making anticipatory eye movements to ambiguous locations and b) resolving conflict between location and identity in a spatial conflict task. The ability to make anticipatory eye movements to ambiguous locations within a sequence was clearly present at 24 months. By 30 months, children could also successfully perform a spatial conflict task that introduced conflict between identity and location, and at that age, children's success on ambiguous anticipatory eye movements was related to lower interference from conflict in the spatial conflict task. Children's performance on the eye-movement task was correlated with performance and reaction time on spatial tasks, and both were related to aspects of effortful control and negative affect as measured in children's parent-reported temperament.