Self-regulation in preschoolers is related to social school readiness: An analysis of performance-based measures of effortful control and executive functioning

This study quantitatively explored a causal model of the association between two focal self-regulation constructs (executive functioning and effortful control) and social school readiness in preschoolers. The population comprised all preschool children and their mothers who resided in Tehran (۲۰۱۸-۲۰۱۹). With the help of their mothers, ۳۴۲ children with a mean age of five years completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB; ۱۹۹۴), the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (Very Short Form) – (CBQ-VSF; ۲۰۰۶), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; ۲۰۰۱), and the Social School Readiness Scale (۱۹۸۲). The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS ۲۲. Effortful control and socio-emotional competence significantly affected social school readiness (p<۰.۰۱). Moreover, executive functioning affected social school readiness, mediated by effortful control in the alternative model (p<۰.۰۱). These findings expand the existing early childhood research by specifying the link between two major aspects of self-regulation and social-emotional school readiness. An integrative approach considering the behavioral and neuropsychological measurements of self-regulation would help elucidate the predictors of social school readiness in early childhood.

Keywords:

self-regulation , Executive Functioning , effortful control , social school readiness , preschoolers