Citation

Lonigan CJ, Spiegel JA, Goodrich JM, Morris BM, Osborne CM, Lerner MD, Phillips BM. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 2017; 45(8): 1491-1502.

Affiliation

Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10802-016-0260-7

PMID

28130704

Abstract

FINDINGS from prior research have consistently indicated significant associations between self-regulation and externalizing behaviors. Significant associations have also been reported between children's language skills and both externalizing behaviors and self-regulation. Few studies to date, however, have examined these relations longitudinally, simultaneously, or with respect to unique clusters of externalizing problems. The current study examined the influence of preschool self-regulation on general and specific externalizing behavior problems in early elementary school and whether these relations were independent of associations between language, self-regulation, and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 815 children (44% female). Additionally, given a general pattern of sex differences in the presentations of externalizing behavior problems, self-regulation, and language skills, sex differences for these associations were examined.

RESULTS indicated unique relations of preschool self-regulation and language with both general externalizing behavior problems and specific problems of inattention. In general, self-regulation was a stronger longitudinal correlate of externalizing behavior for boys than it was for girls, and language was a stronger longitudinal predictor of hyperactive/impulsive behavior for girls than it was for boys.

Language: en

Keywords

Executive function; Externalizing behavior; Inattention; Preschool; Self-regulation