Children's Effortful Control Research Articles

Associations between preschooler screen time trajectories and executive function

ObjectivesTo examine associations between preschooler screen time trajectories and executive functions and effortful control at age 5. MethodsProspective, community-based convenience sample of 315 parents of preschoolers (54% male), studied at the ages of 3.5 (2020), 4.5 (2021), and 5.5 (2022). Parent-reported screen use at the ages of 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 was used to estimate preschooler screen use trajectories. Using latent growth modeling, we identified low (mean=.9 hrs/day, 23%), medium (mean=3.0 hrs/day, 56%), and high (mean=6.38 hrs/day, 21%) screen time groups.Children completed assessments of inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility at age 5.5. Both tasks are from the NIH Toolbox. Parents reported child effortful control at the age of 3.5 and 5.5 using the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire, educational attainment, and parenting stress. ResultsChildren in the average (b =-5.24) and high (b=.9.30) screen time trajectories scored significantly lower on inhibitory control than those in the low screen time group. Children in the average and high screen time groups also scored higher than children in the low screen time group on cognitive flexibility (b =-4.50) and (b=-10.12), respectively. Finally, children in the average and high screen time groups scored lower than children in the low screen time groups on effortful control (b =-.41) and (b=-.61), respectively. ConclusionsThe present study shows that stability in high levels of screen use is common among preschoolers and may forecast higher risk of cognitive difficulty and lower levels of cognitive control by the time of school entry. SummaryHigh levels of preschooler screen use were associated with lower scores on assessments of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and effortful control.

An early parenting intervention focused on enriched parent-child interactions improves effortful control in the early years of school.

This study examined long-term mediating effects of the smalltalk parenting intervention on children's effortful control at school age (7.5 years; 2016-2018). In 2010-2012, parents (96% female) of toddlers (N = 1201; aged 12-36 months; 52% female) were randomly assigned to either: standard playgroup, smalltalk playgroup (group-only), or smalltalk playgroup with additional home coaching (smalltalk plus). Multi-informant data indicated that smalltalk plus had unique indirect effects on children's effortful control, through parents' capacity to 'maintain and extend' children's focus during joint interactions. Possible mediating pathways via parent verbal responsivity, home learning activities, and descriptive language use were not supported. When parents received a structured playgroup program with additional home coaching, sustainable benefits were evident in children's self-regulation, assessed in the early school years.

Maternal Phubbing and Problematic Media Use in Preschoolers: The Independent and Interactive Moderating Role of Children's Negative Affectivity and Effortful Control.

Given that mother plays the main nurturing role in a family unit and their unique influence on children's development, the current study aimed to examine the influence of maternal phubbing on children's problematic media use and the independent and interactive moderating role of children's negative affectivity and effortful control. Participants were 1986 children aged 3 to 6 years in Shanghai, China. Their mothers were asked to complete a series of questionnaires including parental phubbing scale, problematic media use measure, and child behavior questionnaire. To investigate the moderating influence of children's negative affectivity and effortful control, hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 24.0. Simple slopes analyses and the Johnson-Neyman technique were further used to depict moderation effects. Maternal phubbing was associated with higher levels of problematic media use in preschool children (β = 0.18, p <.001, [0.14, 0.22]). Children's negative affectivity acts as a risk factor, exacerbating the adverse effects of maternal phubbing on children's problematic media use (β = 0.05, t = 2.69, p < 0.05), whereas children's effortful control acts as a protective factor, buffering the link between maternal phubbing and children's problematic media use (β = -0.10, t = -5.00, p < 0.001). These results suggest that interventions seeking to promote appropriate digital development in preschoolers should take the child's temperament into account and be complemented by active parental mediation and involvement.

Relationship between maternal grit and effortful control among 18-21-month-old toddlers.

Grit is known to be effective for long-term academic and social success. However, few studies have focused on the role of grit in parenting and its effect on the development of grit in children. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of maternal grit on children's effortful control (EC), which is thought to be a precursor to grit, using parenting as a mediating factor. Participants in the current study were 412 children (age range: 18-21 months, M = 34.67 months, SD = 4.51 months) and their mothers. We assessed maternal grit, parenting style, maternal EC, and child EC, and found that maternal grit, maternal EC, and parenting style were positively correlated with child EC. Furthermore, maternal grit was related to EC in children not only directly, but also indirectly through responsive parenting. Additionally, maternal grit was found to be directly related to child EC only when assessed separately from maternal EC. The current study's findings suggest that maternal grit is directly related to EC in children in a way that differs from the mother's EC in child-rearing situations.

Maternal psychological distress and temperament traits in children from infancy to late childhood.

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with infant temperament. Whether associations persist into late childhood, whether maternal distress is associated with temperament change from infancy to late childhood, whether associations are independent of maternal concurrent distress, and whether maternal distress has sensitive exposure periods on child temperament remain unclear. Our study includes mother-child dyads from Finnish, prospective Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction study. The mothers completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, State Anxiety Inventory and Perceived Stress Scale: biweekly up to 14 times during pregnancy; once in infancy (at child age 4-12months); and once in late childhood (at child age 7-11years). They also completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Revised at the infancy (n=2538) and Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire at the late childhood (n=2004; 1693 children had data at both follow-ups) follow-up on child negative affectivity, extraversion and effortful control. We examined the associations of maternal distress with child temperament with linear regression, linear mixed and Bayesian relevant lifecourse exposure models. Maternal distress during pregnancy was associated with higher negative affectivity and lower effortful control in children in infancy and late childhood. Maternal distress during pregnancy was also associated with increases in negative affectivity, decreases in effortful Control, and smaller decreases in extraversion from infancy to late childhood. The associations with late childhood temperament and temperament change were independent of maternal concurrent distress. Late childhood was a sensitive period for lifetime-to-date effects of maternal distress on late childhood negative affectivity and effortful control. Distress during pregnancy and infancy had smaller contributions. Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy is associated with individual differences and change in child temperament from infancy to late childhood. However, distress during pregnancy has a smaller effect on late childhood temperament than maternal concurrent distress.

The role of perceived social support in mitigating the impact of parenting stress on children’s effortful control

Effortful control, the ability to suppress a dominant response over a subdominant one, is a fundamental aspect of self-regulation. It has been observed that higher levels of parenting stress are associated with lower levels of effortful control in children. Perceived social support, an important factor in reducing parenting stress, may act as a buffer against the negative effects of parenting stress on children’s effortful control skills. To investigate this assumption, we collected data from 199 mothers in Türkiye, who had children between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Mothers reported on their parenting stress levels, perceived social support, and their children’s effortful control. Our results revealed that perceived social support moderated the relationship between parenting stress and children’s effortful control after controlling for socioeconomic status. Moreover, the buffering effect of perceived social support became stronger as the level of social support increased, subsequently weakening the relationship between parenting stress and children’s effortful control. These findings suggest that parental perceived social support plays a pivotal role in mitigating the adverse effects of parenting stress on healthy child development. These cross-sectional findings warrant a longitudinal investigation into the interrelations among parenting stress, perceived social support, and children’s effortful control.

Does Grit Compensate for Family Background Disadvantage in Predicting Mental Health Difficulties? A Longitudinal Study of Chinese Migrant and Urban Children.

The significant population of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant children has sparked considerable domestic and international concern regarding their disadvantaged family circumstances and their escalating prevalence of internalizing and externalizing problems. Derived from the resource substitution hypothesis, non-cognitive factors such as personality traits may act as "substitution" resources for educational outcomes of children from less privileged families. Yet, the compensatory role of personality traits as substitution resources in children's mental health has received limited attention, including that of migrant children. This study examined the interplay of trait-like grit and family SES on emotional and conduct problems among Chinese migrant and urban children. The current sample consisted of 770 migrant children (Mage = 10.45 and SDage = 0.68 years; 38.4% girls) and their 222 urban counterparts (Mage = 10.34 and SDage = 0.46 years; 45.5% girls). Moderated polynomial regressions with response surface analysis on a two-wave data with an interval of over six months showed that grit served as a "substitution" resource for the less socioeconomically advantaged children. The compensatory effect of perseverance of effort on urban children's emotional problems and that of consistency of interest on migrant children's conduct problems were visualized. Moreover, the two compensatory effects were found to be robust and unique, even after children's effortful control, a grit-related construct, was taken into account. These findings not only support the resource substitution hypothesis, but also underscore the protective role that grit plays in children under less privileged environments.

The role of mother's and child's self-regulation on bidirectional links between harsh parenting and child externalizing problems.

The authors examined task-based (i.e., executive function), surveyed (i.e., effortful control), and physiological (i.e., resting cardiac respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]) measures of child and maternal regulation as distinct moderators of longitudinal bidirectional links between child externalizing (EXT) behaviors and harsh parenting (HP) from 6 to 9 years. The sample size was 299 (50.9% female; 1% Asian, 4% multiple races; 14% Black; 78% White), and participants were recruited in the United States (a rural college town in Virginia and a midsized city in North Carolina). Higher child EXT at 6 years predicted higher HP at 7-8 years, which predicted higher EXT at 9 years. Also, this path was moderated by 6-year child effortful control, 6-year resting RSA, and 9-year executive function. In contrast, there was no moderating effect of any measure of maternal regulation. Findings suggest it is important to consider child self-regulation when examining bidirectionality in parent and child effects for HP and child EXT. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The pernicious role of stress on intergenerational continuity of psychopathology.

Development and Psychopathology has been a premier resource for understanding stressful childhood experiences and the intergenerational continuity of psychopathology. Building on that tradition, we examined the unique and joint influences of maternal stress on children's effortful control (age 7) and externalizing behavior (age 11) as transmitted via genetics, the prenatal environment, and the postnatal environment. The sample included N = 561 adopted children and their biological and adoptive parents. Path models identified a direct effect of biological mother life stress on children's effortful control (β = -.08) and an indirect effect of her life stress on child externalizing behavior via effortful control (β = .52), but no main or indirect effects of biological parent psychopathology, prenatal stress, or adoptive mother adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Adoptive mother ACES amplified the association between biological mother life stress and child effortful control (β = -.08), externalizing behavior (β = 1.41), and the indirect effect via effortful control, strengthening associations when adoptive mothers reported average or high ACES during their own childhoods. Results suggest that novel study designs are needed to enhance the understanding of how life stress gets "under the skin" to affect psychopathology in the offspring of adults who have experienced stress.

Mother–child similarity during observed interactions: Links with mother and child effortful control

AbstractObjectiveWe examined whether mothers' and child's regulatory capacity, measured by effortful control (EC) and its facets, is associated with variance in mother–child within‐dyad similarity in multiple aspects of positive emotions and behaviors during their interaction.BackgroundBoth parents' and children's self‐regulation capacities may help them to modulate their behaviors and emotions to be mutually responsive to and harmonious with their interaction partner.MethodsParticipants were children of 3‐ to‐7‐year‐olds and their mothers (n = 147). Mothers completed a set of questionnaires regarding themselves, their child, and demographics, and mother–child interactions were observed during three cooperative tasks. We estimated mother–child within‐dyad similarity during their brief interaction using the Q‐correlation method.ResultsMothers' general EC was statistically associated with greater mother–child similarity, but children's EC was not. When testing the subscales of EC, greater mother–child similarity was associated with mother's higher attentional control, child's better attention focusing, child's lower levels of low intensity pleasure, and older child age.ConclusionMother's higher attentional control and child's better attention focusing are associated with greater mother and child within‐dyad similarity during their interactions.ImplicationsThis study highlights the importance of considering child and mother self‐regulation for intervention efforts to better understand how dyads match and co‐modulate their behaviors and emotions during their interactions.

Screen time vs. scream time: Developmental interrelations between young children's screen time, negative affect, and effortful control

This study aimed to examine developmental relations of screen time, negative affect and effortful control in children aged 12–36 months. Parents of 462 children up to 3 years of age at the start of the study (M = 1.28 years, SD = 0.61; 50% female) participated in four assessments within 10 months. Parents reported their children's screen time, negative affect, and effortful control at each assessment in a diary study. Results of multivariate Bayesian multilevel growth modeling revealed correlations between growth parameters of (1) children's screen time and their negative affect and (2) children's negative affect and their effortful control but not between growth parameters of (3) children's screen time and their effortful control. Overall, these results indicate that children's screen time may be associated with their negative affect independently of their effortful control. Hence, we found no evidence of displacement in the development of self-regulatory strategies in children of parents with higher levels of education. Future research on this topic should focus on children's excessive screen media use, considering contextual and content-related screen media factors and other factors in the child's immediate and broader environment.

Granny and mama: Grandmothers’ and mothers’ interactions with toddlers during block play in urban China

The goal of this study was to compare two generations of Chinese caregivers (N = 129) in terms of their interactions with toddlers during block play. We additionally explored the associations between caregivers’ interaction styles and toddlers’ effortful control. Caregivers were mothers (n = 68, mean age = 33.56 years) and grandmothers (n = 61, mean age = 59.17 years) from 70 families in urban China. Concepts (block construction, body parts and color, literacy, and math) taught by caregivers at basic and advanced levels as well as their interaction styles (dominance, positive and negative feedback, positive and negative affect) were coded from semi-structured home observations. Caregivers also reported on children’s effortful control. Compared to mothers, grandmothers taught at more advanced levels, dominated the interaction more, displayed less positive affect as well as more negative affect and negative feedback toward children. Moreover, mothers’ dominance and negativity during block play were uniquely associated with lower levels of child effortful control. Findings advance knowledge of intergenerational differences in caregivers’ interactions with young children in a rapidly changing society.

Household chaos, child temperament, and structure-related feeding practices in toddlerhood: A moderation analysis

Structure-related feeding practices may promote intuitive child eating behaviors and foster responsiveness to internal cues of hunger and satiety. Caregivers' ability to engage in structure-related feeding practices likely depends on a complex ecology of factors, including household- and child-characteristics. This study examined associations between household chaos and structure-related feeding practices, and the moderating effect of child temperament. Data were from 275 caregiver-toddler dyads from central Ohio. Child temperament was reported by caregivers when children were 18 months of age, whereas household chaos and structure-related feeding practices were reported by caregivers when children were 36 months of age. Multivariable linear regression models were constructed to assess the relationship between chaos and structure-related feeding practices. Interaction terms between household chaos and three dimensions of child temperament were tested to determine whether temperament moderated the relationship between chaos and structure-related feeding practices. Household chaos was not independently associated with structure-related feeding practices, but higher levels of child effortful control were associated with greater mealtime structure. There was a statistically significant interaction between household chaos and child temperamental surgency, such that greater levels of chaos were associated with less structured mealtimes, but only when children had low-surgency. Findings suggest household chaos and child temperament inform caregiver feeding practices, but the influence of chaos may depend on more proximal factors, like child temperament. Recommendations to improve caregiver-child feeding interactions should be sensitive to characteristics of the broader family home environment.

Child and Maternal Factors Associated with Feeding Practices in Children with Poor Growth.

The development of adequate growth and healthy eating behaviors depends on nutritious food and responsive feeding practices. Our study examined (1) the relationship between maternal concern about child weight or perceived feeding difficulties and their feeding practices, and (2) the moderating role of child temperament and maternal mental health on their feeding practices. A cross-sessional study included mother-child dyads (n = 98) from a tertiary growth and feeding clinic. Children had a mean age of 12.7 ± 5.0 months and a mean weight-for-age z-score of -2.0 ± 1.3. Responsive and controlling feeding practices were measured with the Infant Feeding Styles Questionnaire. Spearman correlation and moderation analysis were performed. Maternal concern about child weight and perceived feeding difficulties were negatively correlated with responsive feeding (r = -0.40, -0.48, p < 0.001). A greater concern about child weight or perceived feeding difficulties was associated with greater use of pressure feeding practices when effortful control was low (B = 0.49, t = 2.47, p = 0.01; B = -0.27, p = 0.008). Maternal anxiety had a significant moderation effect on the relationship between feeding difficulty and pressure feeding (B = -0.04, p = 0.009). Higher maternal concern about child weight and perceived feeding difficulties were associated with less responsive satiety feeding beliefs and behaviors. Both child effortful control and maternal anxiety influenced the relationship between weight and feeding concerns and the use of pressure feeding practices.

Effortful Control Protects Against Familial Liability for ADHD: Longitudinal Results from the ABCD Study in the United States.

Effortful control, the ability to regulate complex and goal-directed behavior, may protect individuals from developing mental health symptoms. This study tested the potential for child effortful control and executive functioning to buffer the effects of familial liability for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) problems across a one-year timeframe. Data from the prospectively-collected Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD)® study were used to examine whether caregiver-rated child effortful control and executive functioning moderated the association between familial ADHD risk and later ADHD symptoms in a sample of children (N = 6,133; ages 9-10 years at baseline). Two independent variables were considered to compare the predictive powers of specific (family ADHD) and broad (family psychopathology) risk factors. Two additional moderating variables (surgency, negative affect) were tested to examine specificity of effortful control and executive functioning as moderators. All variables of interest were measured on a continuum and via caregiver report. At high levels of effortful control and executive functioning, there was no association between familial liability for ADHD or broad psychopathology and later child ADHD problems. The moderator effects were specific to effortful control and executive functioning domains. Etiological models of heritable psychiatric disorders, such as ADHD, should consider the risk and protective contributions of individual traits, such as effortful control and executive functioning. Clinical prevention and intervention efforts may target self-regulation skills in children to buffer against familial liability for ADHD problems.

Exposure to intimate partner violence alters longitudinal associations between caregiver depressive symptoms and effortful control in children and adolescents.

Adaptation to intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure involves alterations in transdiagnostic processes including effortful control (EC), and yet little attention has been given to the ways such processes interact with family-level factors, such as caregivers' psychopathology. This study used latent change score modeling to compare trajectories of EC and caregivers' depressive (CD) symptoms between children and adolescents (N = 365) ages 7-17 who had witnessed IPV (IPV+; 45.3%) and those who had not (IPV-) across 3 years. Findings suggested that IPV exposure moderated relationships between EC and CD. CD was higher and EC was lower for IPV+ relative to IPV- participants, although there was significant variation around mean-level CD and EC in both groups. CD and EC were only linked for IPV+ participants, where higher baseline CD was associated with lower EC that lagged behind IPV- participants' EC across the 3 years of the study. Rates of change for CD significantly varied for the IPV+ group only, indicating that individual difference factors interacted with IPV exposure to influence changes in CD. These findings inform literature on transdiagnostic adaptation processes and point to the potential utility of interventions to reduce IPV and CD in supporting EC in children and adolescents across contexts.

Differential effects of parental control on preschool‐age adjustment depending on child effortful control

AbstractThis study examined whether parental control differentially predicted children's effortful control and adjustment depending on children's levels of executive control and delay ability. Using longitudinal data, the study included 241 preschool‐age children and their mothers. Fifty‐seven percent of the sample was lower income and included 64% White, 10% Latino/Hispanic, 9% Black, 3% Asian‐American, 2% Native or American Indian, and 12% multiple racial/ethnic backgrounds. Interactions between aspects of parental and child control at 3‐years‐old were tested as predictors of mother‐reported child effortful control at 4.5 years and teacher‐reported adjustment at 5.5 years. Children's early levels of executive control and delay ability moderated the relations of some forms of parental control with child outcomes, although several hypothesized interactions were nonsignificant. Low parental autonomy respect predicted higher externalizing for children initially high in executive control but predicted lower externalizing for children initially low in executive control. Conversely, high autonomy respect predicted higher impulsivity for children low in delay ability but higher social competence for children high in delay ability. Finally, low maternal negative control predicted higher internalizing for children low in delay ability, whereas it predicted higher internalizing for children high in delay ability. These findings suggest that in some cases the type and degree of parental control should match a child's level of effortful control to support their social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment optimally.

The Influence of Caregiver Language on the Association Between Child Temperament and Spoken Language in Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

To examine the interaction between child temperament and caregiver linguistic input (i.e., syntactic complexity and lexical diversity) on receptive language in children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Families of 59 DHH children ( Mage = 5.66 years) using spoken language for communication participated in this cross-sectional study. Caregivers completed the Child Behavior Questionnaire-Short Form, which measured child temperament across three established factors (i.e., effortful control, negative affectivity, surgency-extraversion) and participated with their child in a semi-structured, dyadic play interaction that occurred during a home visit. Caregivers' language during the play interaction was quantified based on lexical diversity and syntactic complexity. Children also completed norm-referenced receptive language measures (i.e., Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language-2, age-appropriate Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals) during the home visit that were combined into a composite measure of child receptive language. When caregivers used lower to moderate levels of lexical diversity, child effortful control was positively related to child receptive language. However, when caregivers used higher levels of lexical diversity, child effortful control and child receptive language were not related to each other. Family environments rich in caregiver lexical input to children might provide a protective influence on DHH child language outcomes by helping to ensure DHH children with varying self-regulatory abilities achieve better spoken language comprehension. These findings highlight the importance of encouraging caregivers to provide rich and stimulating language-learning environments for DHH children.

Setting the stage: Biopsychosocial predictors of early childhood externalizing behaviors.

Research has indicated that biological (self-regulation), psychological (temperament), and social (maternal parenting behaviors) factors predict childhood externalizing behaviors. Few studies, however, have evaluated psychological, biological, and social factors in conjunction as predictors of childhood externalizing behaviors. Further, limited research has examined whether these biopsychosocial predictors during infancy and toddlerhood predict the onset of externalizing behaviors in early childhood. The present study aimed to examine the longitudinal relations between biopsychosocial predictors of child externalizing behaviors. Children and their mothers (n=410) participated when children were 5, 24, and 36months old. Child self-regulation was assessed via baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) at age 5 months, and child psychology was measured via maternal report of effortful control at age 24months. Additionally, maternal intrusiveness was assessed during a mother-child interaction at age 5months. At 36months, mothers reported on child externalizing behaviors. Longitudinal path modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of maternal intrusiveness and child effortful control on child externalizing behavior, as well as whether these effects were conditional upon child baseline RSA. Results showed a significant indirect effect of maternal intrusiveness on externalizing behavior through effortful control, and this pathway was moderated by baseline RSA after controlling for orienting regulation at age 5months. These results suggest that early childhood externalizing behaviors are jointly affected by biological, psychological, and social factors during toddlerhood.

Child Effortful Control as a Moderator of the Effects of Parenting on Children's Behavioral Adjustment: A Longitudinal Study Spanning 3 to 10 Years.

This study aimed to examine independent and interactive contributions of parenting behaviors (e.g., physical punishment, inductive discipline, warm responsiveness) and child effortful control on child externalizing problems during early and middle childhood. Participants were 241 children (123girls) of middle-income families in the U.S. who were primarily European Americans (91%) and at risk for school-age problem behaviors. Data were collected at ages 3, 6, and 10 using multiple methods, informants, and contexts. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated both independent and interactive influences of parenting behaviors and child effortful control on children's externalizing behaviors. Importantly, effortful control buffered the negative influence of physical punishment, but not other parenting behaviors, such that physical punishment was associated with external behaviors at 6 years only for children with poorer effortful control abilities. The results highlight both parental discipline strategies and child effortful control as promising targets for early identification and prevention of future problem behaviors. Summary: Parenting and child effortful control have long been topics of research on child development. However, relatively little is known about the long-term effects of early parenting in the context of effortful control and the possibility that those processes may differ across different dimensions of parenting (i.e., warm responsiveness, inductive discipline, and physical punishment) Therefore, this study aimed to examine independent and interactive contributions of parenting behaviors and child effortful control on child externalizing problems during early and middle childhood. Participants were 241 children (123girls) of middle-income families who were at risk for school-age problem behaviors. Data were collected using multiple methods, informants, and contexts. Specifically, child effortful control at 3 years was measured using multiple tasks, and parenting at 3 years was assessed via maternal report during home interview. Teachers contributed ratings of child externalizing behaviors at 3, 6, and 10 years. Results indicated both independent and interactive influences of parenting behaviors and child effortful control on children's externalizing behaviors. Importantly, effortful control buffered the negative influence of physical punishment, but not other parenting behaviors, such that physical punishment was associated with external behaviors at 6 years only for children with poorer effortful control abilities. Moreover, parents' use of physical punishment at age 3 showed a long-lasting association with children's problem behaviors at ages 6 and 10 years. The findings suggest that children with more advanced effortful control may be less susceptible to long-term detrimental contribution of physical punishment, although by no means they are protected from harmful effects of punitive discipline. This study provides more sophisticated explanations on the influence of early parenting and child effortful control on externalizing behaviors spanning early to middle childhood. The results also highlight different parental discipline strategies and child effortful controls as promising targets for early identification and prevention of children's future problem behaviors in childhood.