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Proximal and distal predictors of self-regulatory change in children aged 4 to 7 years
Research Square, Vol.16 April 2020
Research Square Company
2020
Abstract
Background:
Growth in early self-regulation skills has been linked to positive health, wellbeing, and achievement trajectories across the lifespan. While individual studies have documented specific influences on self-regulation competencies in early childhood, few have modelled a comprehensive range of predictors of self-regulation change across health, development, and environment simultaneously. This study aimed to examine the concurrent associations among a range of proximal and distal inuences on change in children’s self-regulation skills over 2 years from age 4-5 years.
Methods:
Data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N= 4983) were used in a structural equation model, predicting a multi-source composite measure of self-regulation at each of 4-5 years and 6-7 years. By controlling for earlier self-regulation and covariates, the model examined the relative contributions of a comprehensive range of variables to self-regulation change including health, development, educational, home environment, time-use, and neighbourhood characteristics.
Results:
The signicant predictors of children’s self-regulation growth across 4 to 7 years were fewer behavioural sleep problems, higher gross motor and pre-academic skills, lower levels of maternal and paternal angry parenting, and lower levels of nancial hardship. There were also marginal effects for high-quality home learning environments and child-educator relationships.
Conclusion:
Findings suggest that if we are to successfully foster children’s self-regulation skills, interventionists would do well to operate not only on children’s current capacities but also key aspects of their surrounding context.
Details
- Title
- Proximal and distal predictors of self-regulatory change in children aged 4 to 7 years
- Authors
- Kate E Williams (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of TechnologySteven J. Howard (Author) - University of Wollongong
- Publication details
- Research Square, Vol.16 April 2020
- Publisher
- Research Square Company
- Date published
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.21203/rs.3.rs-17107/v2
- ISSN
- 2693-5015
- Copyright note
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Data Availability
- The dataset analysed for the current study is available from the Australian Data Archive https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.26193/JOZW2U
- Organisation Unit
- School of Education and Tertiary Access
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99989898002621
- Output Type
- Preprint
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