Abstract
This study contributes to understandings of early childhood self-regulation and executive function, and their components, through taking a person-centered approach to investigating how these skills cluster together in children aged 4–5years. A sample of children (N=206) from preschools in low socioeconomic communities were assessed through teacher report of self-regulation and three executive function tasks at the commencement of the preschool year. Outcome variables included teacher report of social skills and behavioral problems, and children’s school readiness and visual motor integration skills were directly assessed. When the scores from this low-income sample were compared to available norms, over 70% of children scored below the 50th percentile in executive function measures, approximately 20% were below average in self-regulation skills, 48% were delayed in school readiness scores, 36% had above average levels of internalizing problems, and 25% were above average in externalizing problems. A series of four latent profile models each used different measurement approaches and combinations of self-regulation and executive function components. In three of the four models (two which combined self-regulation and executive function measures and one with teacher report of self-regulation only), a high skill and low skill profile were found with 31 to 42% of children in the low profile depending on the model. Children were very similarly classified across all three models. When three executive function scores were modeled alone, a more complex three-profile solution emerged (low, moderate, and high) with 52% in the low profile. Children identified in the low profiles across all models were at greater risk of poorer school readiness, visual motor integration and social skills, and increased behavioral problems. Taken together, the findings suggest that self-regulation and executive function skills tend to cluster together at this age and in this low-income sample. Composite scores of teacher report of self-regulation are somewhat sufficient in identifying children who also have poorer executive function skills and are at risk of poorer motor, social, and school readiness outcomes. These children are an important target group for additional supports prior to school entry.
Highlights
Self-regulation (SR) as an umbrella term is considered to include a wide range of processes that allow for the control of attention, cognition, emotion, and behavior in ways that are adaptive to circumstances and support goal attainment (Blair, 2016)
Low family income was correlated with lower shifting skills, school readiness, and prosocial skills
The aim of this study was to understand what profiles of SR and executive functions (EF) are discoverable in preschool children in low-income areas, using a range of indices for latent profile analyses involving both subcomponent and composite scores
Summary
Self-regulation (SR) as an umbrella term is considered to include a wide range of processes that allow for the control of attention, cognition, emotion, and behavior in ways that are adaptive to circumstances and support goal attainment (Blair, 2016). Though stemming originally from different research domains (SR from the study of temperament and in particular effortful control, and EF from cognitive neuroscience), several recent models have sought to bring these constructs together to create a more complete understanding of self-regulatory development in early childhood (Blair, 2016; Bailey and Jones, 2019). Consistent evidence points to the role of early childhood SR (Robson et al, 2020) and EF (Finders et al, 2021) in supporting a range of positive life outcomes in achievement, social, and wellbeing domains. For children living in socioeconomic disadvantage, it is understood that: SR and EF development are adversely impacted through the experience of early stressors and impacts of stress response physiology (Wesarg et al, 2020; Vogel et al, 2021); poorer skills in these areas are likely the key mechanism through which early poverty yields school readiness and ongoing achievement gaps (Perry et al, 2018a); and that stronger SR skills may offer some buffering of the effects of early risk (Crespo et al, 2019; Beisly et al, 2020)
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