Children's Self-control Research Articles

Adolescents Who Self-Harm and Commit Violent Crime: Testing Early-Life Predictors of Dual Harm in a Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Self-harm is associated with violent offending. However, little is known about young people who engage in "dual-harm" behavior. The authors investigated antecedents, clinical features, and life characteristics distinguishing dual-harming adolescents from those who self-harm only. Participants were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative U.K. cohort of 2,232 twins born in 1994 and 1995. Self-harm in adolescence was assessed through interviews at age 18. Violent offending was assessed using a computer questionnaire at age 18 and police records through age 22. Risk factors were assessed between ages 5 and 12. Adolescent mental health, victimization, personality functioning, and use of support services were measured at age 18. Self-harm was associated with violent crime (odds ratio=3.50, 95% CI=2.61-4.70), even after accounting for familial risk factors. Dual harmers had been victims of violence from childhood and exhibited lower childhood self-control and lower childhood IQ than self-only harmers. Dual harmers experienced higher rates of concurrent psychotic symptoms and substance dependence. They also exhibited distinct personality styles characterized by resistance to change and by emotional and interpersonal lability. However, dual harmers were not more likely than self-only harmers to have contact with mental health services. Dual harmers have self-control difficulties and are immersed in violence from a young age. A treatment- rather than punishment-oriented approach is indicated to meet these individuals' needs. Connecting self-harming adolescents with delinquency-reduction programs and transdiagnostic approaches that target self-regulation may reduce harmful behaviors. Preventing childhood maltreatment and implementing strategies to reduce victimization exposure could mitigate risk for both internalized and externalized violence.

FORMATION OF ASSESSMENT-CONTROL ACTIVITIES OF PRESCHOOLERS: THEORETICAL ASPECT

The age characteristics of preschoolers, in particular, the sensitivity of their development, are described. The contradictions concerning the formation of evaluation and control actions in preschool children are singled out. The purpose of our work is formulated – on the basis of the analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature and the empirical experience of upbringing preschoolers to find out the peculiarities of the formation of appraisal and control actions of preschoolers in the process of gaming activity. Differentiated concept: «action», «evaluative action», «control action», «skill», «assessment», «evaluation and control action». It is indicated that the problem of the formation of evaluation and control activities largely depends on the development of self-esteem and self-control in preschool children. The evaluation benchmark is defined as a criterion of evaluative activity, which is closely related to the assessment. The functions of the influence of assessments on the personality of the child are singled out: the approximate, influencing the mental work, contributes to the awareness of the process of this work and stimulatory, which affects the «affective-volitional sphere» due to the experience of success or failure. The essence of the pedagogical assessment and the conditions in which it has a positive impact on the pupils. It is established that the assessment is related to the assessment and control actions that pre-schoolers need to master. The definition of the essence of the formation of evaluation and control actions is formulated. The presence of factors influencing the formation of evaluation and control actions (self-esteem and self-control) is argued. The most effective methods of forming the actions of self-control are singled out: comparison of the made with the visual sample, comparison of the answer with the auditory sample, comparison with the internal sample, comparison with the generalized internal model. The stages of development of self-esteem and mutual assessment in pre-school children according to their age are determined and the main aspects of the manifestation of their formation are characterized.

놀이중심의 자기통제훈련 프로그램이 학령기 아동의 자기통제력 및 인터넷중독과 인터넷 사용시간에 미치는 효과

놀이중심의 자기통제훈련 프로그램이 학령기 아동의 자기통제력 및 인터넷중독과 인터넷 사용시간에 미치는 효과

Transitional Dynamics of Household Food Insecurity Impact Children's Developmental Outcomes.

To determine how transitions into and out of varying degrees of food insecurity impact children's academic competencies, executive functioning, and social skills (i.e., self-control, interpersonal skills, externalizing behaviors, and internalizing behaviors). Data come from the nationally representative kindergarten and first-grade waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (2010-2011); 11,958 children attending 1289 schools are included. Statistical analyses involve using a novel framework for measuring the transitional dynamics and depth of food insecurity to predict children's developmental outcomes using hierarchal linear models, which adjust for child- and school-level confounders. Deepening food insecurity (DeepenFIS) was detrimental to children's self-control (-0.208, p < 0.01), math (-0.153, p < 0.01), and working memory (-5.202, p < 0.05) scores. Remitting marginal food insecurity was associated with negative effects on children's self-control (-0.082, p < 0.05) and interpersonal skills (-0.098, p < 0.01) but not on math or working memory. Persisting marginal food insecurity (PersistMFIS) negatively impacted children's self-control (-0.106, p < 0.05) and interpersonal skills (-0.115, p < 0.05). Emerging food insecurity (0.146, p < 0.01) and persisting food insecurity (0.071, p < 0.05) had detrimental effects on children's externalizing behaviors. Based on a novel food insecurity transitions framework and examination of multiple developmental outcomes, this study highlights the importance of examining both depth and transitional dynamics of food insecurity. Findings indicate that DeepenFIS and PersistMFIS may have potentially the most harmful effects on children's developmental outcomes. Clinically, findings support the need for addressing food insecurity in early childhood, even if the food insecurity challenges are marginal and just emerging.

Development of self-control in early childhood—a growth mixture modeling approach

Self-control emerges in early childhood and is shown to be strongly related to poor adulthood outcomes. The development of self-control was long believed to be homogeneous among individuals and sta...

The role of self-control and regulatory foci in money-saving behaviours among children

The studies aimed to discover if it is possible to increase children’s ability to defer consumption in favour of saving money by drawing attention to the importance of self-control and by inducing regulatory focus of promotion or prevention. The first study confirmed that economic behaviours of children are connected to their level of self-control. Next, in two experimental studies, self-control and regulatory focus were experimentally induced in 9- to 11-year-old children. The second study (n = 158) showed that self-control activation results in preference of saving over immediate consumption for boys but not for girls. The third study (n = 144) showed that promotion regulatory focus activation results in preference of saving over immediate consumption, while after the activation of prevention regulatory focus, children prefer immediate consumption. The results indicate that sole activation in children’s thinking about the importance of self-control or about specific self-regulation motivations may influence saving behaviours. Nevertheless, due to the fact that males and females differ in self-control levels and in motivation for goal pursuit, inducing self-control or specific regulatory focus in children may have different effects on economic decisions, depending on a child’s gender.

Mindfulness for children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting (MindChamp): Protocol of a randomised controlled trial comparing a family Mindfulness-Based Intervention as an add-on to care-as-usual with care-as-usual only

BackgroundSelf-control in childhood has been linked to long-term and cascading effects on health, academic, criminality, wealth and parenting outcomes. Hence it is important to target self-control deficits early in life. Self-control deficits are a hallmark of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Even after receiving care-as-usual (CAU) for ADHD, impaired self-control often remains. Pharmacotherapy can be hampered by side-effects, low adherence and short-term effectiveness. Other limitations of CAU are decreased effectiveness when parents have ADHD and little effect on parental well-being. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are an emerging non-pharmacological approach with potential to improve self-control and well-being in both children and parents. However, there is a lack of sufficiently powered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to establish their effects in families with ADHD. This study protocol describes an RCT to investigate the effectiveness of a family MBI as an add-on to CAU in treatment of youth with ADHD, and is described in accordance with Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT).Methods/designAn RCT will be conducted in N = 100 children (aged 8–16 years) with ADHD and their parents. The experimental condition will consist of a family MBI (MYmind): 8-week group-based MBI for youth combined with parallel group-based Mindful Parenting for their parents, as an add-on to CAU. The control condition will consist of CAU-only. Assessments will take place at baseline, end of treatment (3 months later), 2 and 6 months’ follow-up. Primary outcome measure will be an ecologically valid assessment of child self-control with the parent-rated Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Secondary child outcome measures will be teacher-rated BRIEF, computerised self-control tasks and questionnaires on psychological symptoms (e.g. ADHD, symptoms of autism), well-being and mindfulness. For parental outcomes, secondary measures will be self-rated BRIEF, computerised self-control tasks and questionnaires on psychological symptoms, well-being and mindful parenting.DiscussionThe proposed RCT will take account of methodological limitations of previous studies on MBIs in child ADHD populations. The current study will provide valuable information on family MBI as a potential effective intervention in targeting self-control deficits for youth with ADHD and their parents.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.govNCT03220308. Retrospectively registered 18 July 2017.

The Contribution of Maternal and Paternal Self-Control to Child and Adolescent Self-Control: a Latent Class Analysis of Intergenerational Transmission

Recent research provides evidence of intergenerational continuity in self-control. This body of research, however, can be advanced in several ways to enhance our understanding of this association. We add to this literature by examining whether maternal and paternal self-control, assessed during a child’s infancy, is associated with latent classes of child self-control based on assessments from eight waves of data spanning age 4 to age 15. Supplementary analyses were also performed using ordinary least squares regression to examine individual child self-control at each of the eight waves. The results indicate that higher maternal and paternal self-control is associated with latent class membership characterizing higher child self-control. Moreover, maternal and paternal self-control were found to be equally consequential for differentiating between a low self-control relative to a moderate self-control class, whereas maternal self-control was a slightly stronger predictor than paternal self-control for differentiating a low self-control relative to a high self-control class. Supplementary OLS models revealed that both maternal and paternal self-control were statistically significant predictors of child self-control at 54 months of age and provided relatively equal contributions. But, as the child ages, the influence of paternal self-control appears to decrease as compared to maternal self-control. This study offers evidence that both maternal and paternal self-control are important for understanding the intergenerational continuity of self-control, but additional research with larger and more diverse samples is needed to better understand the relative importance of mothers and fathers for this continuity.

Self-control and dental caries among elementary school children in Japan.

Children's self-control is associated with various behaviour-related health problems in childhood and later in life. However, studies on self-control and dental caries, strongly associated with toothbrushing or drinking and eating behaviour, are limited. We investigated the association between self-control and the number of decayed or filled primary teeth (dft) among first-grade children (6-7years old) in Japan and evaluated the mediation effect of oral health behaviour on this association. A cross-sectional study of all first-grade elementary school children and their caregivers in Adachi ward (Tokyo) was conducted in 2015. Clinically determined dft status among children and caregiver-administered questionnaires on self-control was linked (n=4291; valid response rate=80.1%). Self-control was assessed by the following single question: "in the last month, was your child able to give up on things they want or do things that they do not like to do for better future outcomes?" Poisson regression analysis was conducted adjusting for age in months, sex, parental educational attainment and household income. Mediation analysis was performed to evaluate the mediation effects of toothbrushing frequency, frequency of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and snack-eating habits on the association. Lower self-control was associated with higher dft after adjusting for all covariates (mean ratio=1.09; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.12). Toothbrushing frequency, frequency of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and snack-eating habits mediated 18.1%, 36.1% and 38.3% of the association between self-control and dft, respectively. Strengthening children's self-control might decrease their dental caries by improving their oral health behaviour.

The Effect of Training Self-Control and Empathy According to Spirituality on Self-Control and Empathy Preschool Female Students in Shiraz City

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of self-management and spiritual-empathy training on preschool preschool self-management and empathy. The research method was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test in two experimental and control groups. The statistical population of this study included all preschool children in Shiraz. For this purpose, preschoolers from Shiraz city were randomly selected from among the preschools and 30 children were selected as the control group as the statistical sample. After conducting self-management and empathy tests for 30 children, a self-management and empathy training program was implemented in 8 sessions of 30 minutes in the experimental group. Self-management and empathy of children in both groups before and after education with self-management and empathy questionnaire (coach form) Bozrgiwas measured. The multi-path and one-way covariance analysis test showed that self-management and spirituality- based empathy education has an impact on self-management and empathy of preschool children. In other words, self-management and spiritual-empowerment education leads to an increase in self-control and empathy in children and there is a significant difference between self-control and empathy between the two groups of experiment and control.

Childhood Self-Control and Adolescent Obesity: Evidence from Longitudinal Data on a National Cohort.

Whether self-control at school entry and changes in self-control in the early school years are predictive of BMI change and obesity onset over the next 8 years using longitudinal data on a nationally representative sample of US children. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class 1998 were analyzed. The analysis sample included 7060 children with data from kindergarten (mean age = 6 years) until eighth grade (mean age = 14 years). Self-control was assessed using teacher-reported scales. Child BMI and obese status (BMI ≥95th percentile for age and gender) were computed from height and weight measurements. Weighted linear and logistic regression models were estimated, adjusting for child's cognitive ability and a rich set of child and family covariates. High self-control in kindergarten was associated with lesser BMI increase (p < 0.05) and 43% lower odds (adjusted OR [AOR] = 0.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.38-0.86) of new onset obesity over the subsequent 8 years. The beneficial effect of high self-control in kindergarten emerged between fifth and eighth grade. Among children with low self-control in kindergarten, increase in self-control between kindergarten and fifth grade was associated with a 1.42 kg/m2 (95% CI: -2.82 to -0.02) lesser increase in BMI and 66% lower odds of new obesity onset (AOR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.14-0.83), between kindergarten and eighth grade. Low self-control at school entry is an important risk factor for unhealthy BMI increase during the transition to adolescence. Increase in self-control in the early school years may prevent unhealthy BMI increase and obesity in adolescence.

Group Influences on Engaging Self-Control: Children Delay Gratification and Value It More When Their In-Group Delays and Their Out-Group Doesn’t

Self-control emerges in a rich sociocultural context. Do group norms around self-control influence the degree to which children use it? We tested this possibility by assigning 3- to 5-year-old children to a group and manipulating their beliefs about in-group and out-group behavior on the classic marshmallow task. Across two experiments, children waited longer for two marshmallows when they believed that their in-group waited and their out-group did not, compared with children who believed that their in-group did not wait and their out-group did. Group behavior influenced children to wait more, not less, as indicated by comparisons with children in a control condition who were assigned to a group but received no information about either groups’ delay behavior (Experiment 1). Children also subsequently valued delaying gratification more if their in-group waited and their out-group did not (Experiment 2). Childhood self-control behavior and related developmental outcomes may be shaped by group norms around self-control, which may be an optimal target for interventions.

Trajectories of parental engagement in early childhood among dual-earner families: Effects on child self-control.

Parental engagement in positive activities with the child may show significant variation across time, assuming a crucial influence on child development. In dual-earner families, work-family conflict can interfere with parental engagement, with negative consequences for children's behavior. The current study examined the change trajectories of mothers' and fathers' engagement in early childhood, analyzing whether these trajectories are influenced by parents' work-family conflict and whether they predict child behavioral self-control. Data from 156 four-year-old children (67 girls) from dual-earner families were collected annually for 3 consecutive years, through mothers', fathers', and teachers' reports. Results from latent growth curve analysis revealed mothers' engagement remained stable across time while fathers' engagement had a significant increase over time. The negative association between work-family conflict and parental engagement was constant over time both for mothers and fathers. For mothers, initial levels of engagement positively predicted child behavioral self-control. As for fathers, both the initial level and positive change in engagement positively predicted child self-control. These findings emphasize the role of parental engagement in fostering child behavioral adjustment, underlining the need for considering work-family dynamics to understand changes in parental engagement. (PsycINFO Database Record

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El objetivo fue establecer si el desarrollo de la psicomotricidad influye en la madurez para la lectoescritura, el autocontrol y la aceptacion en preescolares de Huancayo. La investigacion es aplicada de nivel teorico. Se desarrollo, experimento y evaluo los efectos de un programa psicomotor con un diseno cuasi experimental de dos grupos no equivalentes. La poblacion estuvo constituida por estudiantes de 3, 4 y 5 anos (II ciclo) de instituciones educativas rural y urbana de Huancayo y la muestra abarco 179 preescolares de tres instituciones, pero se experimento en dos, quienes fueron evaluados en las cuatro variables, antes y despues del experimento. Los resultados mostraron que los preescolares con mas desarrollo psicomotor alcanzaron mayor madurez para la lectoescritura; ambos grupos mejoraron en su aceptacion por los pares asi como en su autocontrol. Se concluyo que el programa “estimulando el cerebro y movimiento del nino” favorece el desarrollo de la psicomotricidad; que si se desarrolla la psicomotricidad, esto influye positivamente en la madurez para la lectoescritura y que no basta la estimulacion psicomotriz que vienen recibiendo en las aulas; que los estimulos proporcionados por las actividades que se desarrollan en las aulas, si permiten que el pequeno aprenda a autorregular su conducta y que en la aceptacion de los ninos por sus pares, es muy importante el papel que tiene la educacion inicial pero que este es potencializado por el programa.

Self-control, parental crime, and discipline across three generations

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study is to examine the relationships between self-control, parental crime, and use of discipline across three generations. Data spanning 30 years from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, are analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. This study focuses on whether different types of discipline used by parents predict the self-control of each successive generation. We also examine whether self-control and criminal activities of parents are predictive of parenting and resulting self-control of children. We find that discipline has a weak relationship to self-control but that parental crime and self-control do relate to the self-control of later generations.

Maternal depressive symptoms and adolescent academic attainment: Testing pathways via parenting and self-control

Maternal depression is associated with reduced academic attainment in children, however, it is not clear how this association comes about. Depressive symptoms are associated with impairment in social roles including parenting. Children's self-control is an important contributor to academic attainment and is influenced by parenting. We therefore hypothesised that impaired parenting and children's self-control may mediate links between maternal depression and children's academic attainment. Data were from a brief longitudinal study (3 waves) of UK children aged 11–12 years and their mothers. Higher maternal depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with lower academic attainment in children assessed one year later. There was evidence to support an indirect effect of maternal depressive symptoms on children's academic attainment through the mother-child and the father-child relationship which, in turn, reduced children's self-control. These influences were independent of socio-economic deprivation. A direct effect of maternal depression on children's academic attainment was also observed.

Self-control, parenting, and problem behavior in early childhood: A multi-method, multi-informant study

BackgroundEarly childhood self-control and parenting are suggested to play key roles in the development of child problem behavior. The current study aims to 1) replicate earlier work by examining the unique and combined effects of child self-control and parenting on child problem behavior and 2) extend earlier work by including both mother and father reports. MethodsData were used from 107 Dutch families: mothers, fathers, and their two-year old child. Child self-control was measured using both father’s and mother’s reports of effortful control and with an observed behavioral task (i.e., gift-in-bag task). Similarly, parenting (i.e., emotional availability and discipline) and child problem behavior (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) were measured by using both father’s and mother’s reports. ResultsChild self-control reported by fathers and mothers, but not observed self-control, was related to fewer externalizing and (mother-reported) internalizing problems. Paternal emotional availability showed a modest association with fewer child externalizing problems, maternal emotional availability was related to fewer internalizing problems. Finally, there was an interaction between father- (but not mother) reported self-control and paternal emotional availability in the prediction of child internalizing problems. No main or interaction effect was revealed for discipline. ConclusionFindings confirm prior work on self-control, parenting, and child problem behavior. Most importantly however, the current study adds to the literature by highlighting the need for additional research including maternal as well as paternal data. Specifically, insight in the unique role of fathers may shed light on aspects of child adjustment not covered by mother reports alone.

Childhood self-control and adult pension participation

Self-control problems have been proposed as a key reason for low pension saving rates, yet evidence of this link remains scarce. We test the association between childhood self-control and adult pension participation using data from 14,223 individuals from two nationally-representative British cohorts. We find that a 1 standard deviation increase in self-control predicts a 4–5 percentage point higher probability of having a pension. Mediation analysis shows that about 50–60 percent of this association is explained by the contribution of self-control to a range of factors (e.g. education, economic status, home-ownership) which are associated with pension uptake throughout adulthood.

Ability to Resist Temptations of Technology Use: A Qualitative Analysis of Children's Views on Factors Associated with Delay of Gratification

ABSTRACTExcessive technology use among young children remains a public health concern with diverse serious consequences. It is important to find out how children resist the temptation to use technology. Using focus group interviews, the authors explored what factors influence children's ability to delay gratification in using technology. Four specific themes emerged from the interview data: they found (a) fear of punishment, (b) self-directed speech, (c) reinforcement, and (d) parental modeling are effective measures to train children to forgo immediate pleasures of using technology. These findings provided some support for the hypothesis that children's self-control of technology use can be modified and improved. This study suggests methods to leverage and strengthen existing initiatives to promote self-control of technology use for children.

On the development of self-control and deviance from preschool to middle adolescence

PurposeThe study tested whether developmental changes in self-control stabilize by late childhood (age 10) or continue into early and middle adolescence. Second, it tested the bidirectional, longitudinal relationship between self-control and deviance over an 11-year period. MethodsChildren (N=1159) from the longitudinal NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) were assessed six times, ages 4.5 to 15years. Latent growth models tested self-control and deviance trajectories, using competing growth functions to capture change over time. The longitudinal, bidirectional self-control-deviance links were examined in a cross-lagged latent model. ResultsFindings showed that children's self-control significantly increased during childhood, but stabilized sometime between 8.5 and 10.5years. Deviance also changed in parallel, but in the opposite direction; some evidence was found of continued change in deviance during early adolescence. Finally, self-control and deviance were bidirectionally and longitudinally linked across all assessments through childhood only. ConclusionsFindings support theoretical predictions that self-control principally develops during childhood (by age 10) and subsequently remains stable. They also support longitudinal, bidirectional self-control-deviance links, largely identical in size prior to the age of 10; study findings are contextualized vis-à-vis self-control theory as well as recent behavior genetic evidence.