This study investigated familial attachment-based processes in middle childhood, using 788 families (50.6% boys; 84.4% White), assessed six times from 4.5 years old to Grade 6. An adapted Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model revealed between-family associations among couple emotional intimacy, relationships with both parents, and child social…

Two studies were conducted in 2017 to investigate children's competencies seen as important by communities in Mtwara, Tanzania. Qualitative data from 95 parents (34 women) and 27 teachers (11 women) in Study 1 indicated that dimensions of social responsibility, such as "obedience," were valued highly. In Study 2, the competencies of 477…

This study employs data from both kindergarten cohorts of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (n ~ 12,450 in 1998; n ~ 11,000 in 2010) to assess whether associations between preschool participation and children's academic and behavioral outcomes--both at school entry (Mean age = 5.6 years in both cohorts) and through third grade--have changed…

Emotion regulation predicts positive academic outcomes like learning, but little is known about "why". Effective emotion regulation likely promotes learning by broadening the scope of what may be attended to after an emotional event. One hundred twenty-six 6- to 13-year-olds' (54% boys) regulation of sadness was examined for changes in…

The longitudinal contributions of emotion regulation and emotion lability-negativity to internalizing symptomatology were examined in a low-income sample (171 maltreated and 151 nonmaltreated children, from age 7 to 10 years). Latent difference score models indicated that for both maltreated and nonmaltreated children, emotion regulation was a…

The link between emotion regulation and academic achievement is well documented. Less is known about specific emotion regulation strategies that promote learning. Six- to 13-year-olds ("N" = 126) viewed a sad film and were instructed to reappraise the importance, reappraise the outcome, or ruminate about the sad events; another group…

This study examined whether children’s difficulties with stage-salient tasks served as an explanatory mechanism in the pathway between their insecurity in the interparental relationship and their disruptive behavior problems. Using a multimethod, multi-informant design, 201 two-year-old children and their mothers participated in 3 annual…

This study examined pre- and postconflict data from 84 children, ages 3-7 years, living in Kibera, Kenya, during the December 2007 political conflict. Results indicate that children's disaster experiences (home destruction, death of a parent, parent and child harm) are associated with adjustment difficulties and that emotion regulation is an…

This study examined the role of self-regulation in emerging academic ability in one hundred and forty-one 3- to 5-year-old children from low-income homes. Measures of effortful control, false belief understanding, and the inhibitory control and attention-shifting aspects of executive function in preschool were related to measures of math and…

The emotional system is defined as a dynamical system that has neurological and biochemical structures that force the system to change in a regular and consistent way. This dynamic view allows for an alternative definition of emotion regulation, which describes when emotion regulation is needed, identifies its goal, and illustrates how regulation…

Used hypothetical vignettes to examine the development of children's and adolescents' understanding of nurturance and self-determination rights. Found that 8- to 12-year-olds were significantly less likely than 14- to 16-year-olds to identify nurturance and self-determination rights as salient. Reasoning about self-determination rights, but not…

Two studies traced the development of metacognitions about self-control in children from preschool through grade 6. Results indicated that children begin to understand two basic rules for effective delay of gratification by about the end of their fifth year. (Author/MP)

Explores some attributional determinants of third and fourth graders' self-punishment following transgression in a moral situation. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that children who are told by adults that they possess desirable moral characteristics experience particularly strong remorse when they fail to exercise…

Examined contribution of temperamental inhibitory control to conscience development. Found longitudinal stability in inhibitory control from toddlerhood to early school age, with inhibitory control increasing with age, and girls outperforming boys. Reaffirmed links between inhibitory control and multiple, diverse measures of children's conscience…

Examined relationships between maternal depression and children's self-concept, self-control, and peer relationships. Found that multiple risk factors, such as the father's mental state and parents' marital status, rather than maternal depression alone, explained much of the variability in children's social and emotional competence. (MDM)