Unravelling self-regulation in early childhood: protocol for the longitudinal SPROUTS study

Steven J Howard; E Vasseleu; L Mushahwar; S Mallawaarachchi; C Neilsen-Hewett; N Day; E C Melhuish; K E Williams

doi:10.1186/s40359-024-02077-x

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Unravelling self-regulation in early childhood: protocol for the longitudinal SPROUTS study

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Unravelling self-regulation in early childhood: protocol for the longitudinal SPROUTS study

Steven J Howard, E Vasseleu, L Mushahwar, S Mallawaarachchi, C Neilsen-Hewett, N Day, E C Melhuish and K E Williams

BMC Psychology, Vol.12(1), pp.1-12

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02077-x

PMID: 39482751

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Abstract

self-regulation

self-control

executive function

early childhood

development

longitudinal

preschool

primary school

transition to school

Enough is known about self-regulation to establish it as a priority target for education and intervention efforts beginning in early childhood, yet not enough to meaningfully and reliably alter developmental trajectories. Rather than resigning our aspirations, we need more nuanced and integrative understanding of self-regulation abilities and change. Launching in 2024, SPROUTS is a 3-year longitudinal study of early self-regulation, beginning in the pre-school period (3-5 years old at Wave 1) with retrospective data back to birth and annual data collection across the transition to school period (ages 5-7 years at Wave 3). Data will be collected on children's self-regulation, related abilities, outcomes, as well as prior and current contexts. One nested study within each Wave-that contributes complementary insights via supplementary and in-depth methods and data-will enable further exploration of contemporary issues related to self-regulation. Insights generated can potentiate more effective intervention and education efforts by: improving intervention cost-benefit ratios; identifying likely mechanisms of change; easing burdens of unhealthy and antisocial behaviours associated with low self-regulation; and, most importantly, contributing to giving children the best early start to life. These benefits are timely in the context of intense policy and educational interest in fostering children's self-regulation. Open Science Framework: osf.io/maqdg. Date of registration: 26 Sep 2024.

Details

Title: Unravelling self-regulation in early childhood: protocol for the longitudinal SPROUTS study
Authors: Steven J Howard (Corresponding Author) - University of Wollongong
E Vasseleu - University of Wollongong
L Mushahwar - University of Wollongong
S Mallawaarachchi - University of Wollongong
C Neilsen-Hewett - University of Wollongong
N Day - University of Wollongong
E C Melhuish - University of Oxford
K E Williams - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary Access
Publication details: BMC Psychology, Vol.12(1), pp.1-12
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-02077-x
ISSN: 2050-7283
PMID: 39482751
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Data Availability: No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
Grant note: FT230100629 / Australian Research Council
Organisation Unit: School of Education and Tertiary Access
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991076422602621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Psychology, Multidisciplinary

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