Developmental foundations of externalizing problems in young children: The role of effortful control

Olson, Sheryl L.; Sameroff, Arnold J.; Kerr, David; Lopez, Nestor L.

doi:10.1037/e552582012-037

Cited by 131 publications

(235 citation statements)

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“…High anger/frustration and low effortful control are theorized as risk factors for externalizing problems because (a) the experience of anger often motivates aggressive behaviors (Berkowitz, 1993), (b) the negative affectivity related to anger/frustration and offensive aggression are associated with a strong neurobiological approach system (Rothbart & Posner, 2006), and (c) children with low effortful control have difficulty regulating attention, physiological and emotional arousal, and behavioral impulses in challenging social interactions (e.g., peer conflicts; Calkins & Fox, 2002;Eisenberg & Morris, 2002;Eisenberg et al, 1993), which may lead to aggression. Consistent with these theories, effortful control has been negatively related to, and anger/frustration has been positively related to, externalizing problems in Euro-American samples (e.g., Calkins & Dedmon, 2000;Eisenberg et al, 2001;Eisenberg, Sadovsky, et al, 2005;Kochanska & Knaack, 2003;Olson, Sameroff, Kerr, Lopez, & Wellman, 2005).…”

Section: Temperamental Effortful Control and Anger/frustrationmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Thus, the effects of effortful control on externalizing seemed to overlap with the effects of parenting or anger/frustration. A few researchers have found unique effects of effortful control on toddlers' and preschoolers' behavior problems controlling for parenting (Eisenberg, Zhou, et al, 2005;Gartstein & Fagot, 2003;Olson et al, 2005), although Lengua and Kovacs (2005) failed to find unique effect of self-regulation on children's behavior problems controlling for parenting and other temperament dimensions. It is possible that as children age, parenting and effortful control or effortful control and anger become increasingly correlated, making it more difficult to identify their unique relations to externalizing problems.…”

Section: The Prospective and Unique Relations Of Parenting Styles Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, following the procedures typically used in studies with Euro-American samples (e.g., Eisenberg, Zhou, et al, 2005;Olson et al, 2005), an effortful control composite was computed by averaging the items across the two subscales. The αs for the combined 25-item parent report and 23-item teacher report scales were .78 and .…”

Section: Child Temperament (W1)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relations of Parenting and Temperament to Chinese Children’s Experience of Negative Life Events, Coping Efficacy, and Externalizing Problems

et al. 2008

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The relations of parenting and temperament (effortful control and anger/frustration) to children's externalizing problems were examined in a 3.8-year longitudinal study of 425 native Chinese children (6 -9 years) from Beijing. Children's experience of negative life events and coping efficacy were examined as mediators in the parenting and temperament-externalizing relations. Parents reported on their own parenting. Parents and teachers rated temperament. Children reported on negative life events and coping efficacy. Parents, teachers, children, or peers rated children's externalizing problems. Authoritative and authoritarian parenting and anger/frustration uniquely predicted externalizing problems. The relation between authoritarian parenting and externalizing was mediated by children's coping efficacy and negative school events. The results suggest there is some crosscultural universality in the developmental pathways for externalizing problems.The development of externalizing problems (i.e., aggression and rule-breaking/delinquent behaviors; Achenbach, 2001) has been related to both parenting and child temperament (Dodge, Coie, & Lynam, 2006). Due to the frequent covariation between parenting and temperament (Sanson & Rothbart, 1995), it is important to study their unique relations to externalizing problems. Moreover, relatively little is known regarding the processes underlying the relations of parenting and temperament to externalizing problems. We addressed these questions by examining the prospective and unique relations of authoritative and authoritarian parenting and temperamental effortful control and anger/frustration to school-age children's externalizing problems in urban China. We further tested whether children's experience of negative life events (NLEs) and coping efficacy (CE) partly mediated the parenting-and NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptChild Dev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 October 15. Published in final edited form as:Child Dev. 2008 ; 79(3): 493-513. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01139.x. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript temperament-externalizing relations. This study provided a unique opportunity to examine the cross-cultural generalizability of developmental theories on externalizing problems. Unique Relations of Parenting and Temperament to Chinese Children's Externalizing Problems ParentingIn their coercive social learning theory, Patterson and colleagues (Patterson, 1982;Reid, Patterson, & Snyder, 2002) hypothesized that coercive and punitive parenting plays a key role in training children's externalizing behaviors. The coercive training process often begins with the parent's aversive intrusion into the child's activities (e.g., scolding or punishing the child for an undesirable behavior), followed by the child's negative reactions (e.g., yelling and complaining) and negative reinforcement of this aversive behavior by parental withdrawal of demands. The theory was supported by longitudinal studies revealing a positive r...

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Section: Temperamental Effortful Control and Anger/frustrationmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: The Prospective and Unique Relations Of Parenting Styles Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Relations of Parenting and Temperament to Chinese Children’s Experience of Negative Life Events, Coping Efficacy, and Externalizing Problems

et al. 2008

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“…Specifically, when children are low in effortful control, they are likely to exhibit negative outbursts, to behave inappropriately with peers and adults, and to behave aggressively. Consistent with these expectations, researchers have found that low effortful control is associated with and predicts behavior problems in preschool and school-aged populations Eisenberg et al, 2005;Eisenberg, Spinrad, et al, 2004;Kochanska & Knaack, 2003;Olson, Sameroff, Kerr, Lopez, & Wellman, 2005). Although the majority of work has been done with older children, Kochanska and Knaack (2003) found negative relations between effortful control at ages 22, 33, and 45 months and later externalizing problems at 73 months.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

Relations of maternal socialization and toddlers' effortful control to children's adjustment and social competence.

Spinrad¹,

Eisenberg²,

Gaertner³

et al. 2007

Developmental Psychology

342

338

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The authors examined the relations of maternal supportive parenting to effortful control and internalizing problems (i.e., separation distress, inhibition to novelty), externalizing problems, and social competence when toddlers were 18 months old (n = 256) and a year later (n = 230). Mothers completed the Coping With Toddlers' Negative Emotions Scale, and their sensitivity and warmth were observed. Toddlers' effortful control was measured with a delay task and adults' reports (Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire). Toddlers' social functioning was assessed with the Infant/ Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. Within each age, children's regulation significantly mediated the relation between supportive parenting and low levels of externalizing problems and separation distress, and high social competence. When using stronger tests of mediation, controlling for stability over time, the authors found only partial evidence for mediation. The findings suggest these relations may be set at an early age. Keywordstoddlers' effortful control; maternal socialization; social functioning; problem behaviors A major goal of current research has been to understand individual differences in young children's problem behaviors and social competence. Although researchers have identified parenting and children's temperament as factors that play an important role in children's socioemotional functioning Kochanska & Knaack, 2003;Rothbart & Bates, 2006), few efforts have been made to study these links in very young children. Despite the lack of attention to this issue, there is some evidence that internalizing and externalizing problems in toddlerhood are stable (Keenan, Shaw, Delliquadri, Giovannelli, & Walsh, 1998;Smith, Calkins, Keane, Anastopoulos, & Shelton, 2004) and may have implications for later maladjustment (Campbell, Shaw, & Gilliom, 2000;Keenan et al., 1998). The purpose of this study was to examine the relations of toddlers' temperamental effortful control and maternal socialization to social functioning at 18 months of age (Time 1 [T1]) and a year later (Time 2 [T2]). Effortful ControlThere is a growing body of research on the construct of emotion regulation as it pertains to children's social functioning. Although the definition of emotion regulation varies, some NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript researchers have conceptualized emotion regulation in terms of children's effortful or voluntary control as opposed to more reactive forms of control Rothbart & Bates, 2006). Effortful control has been defined as "the efficiency of executive attention, including the ability to inhibit a dominant response and/or to activate a subdominant response, to plan, and to detect errors" (Rothbart & Bates, 2006, p. 129). Effortful control is characterized by the ability to voluntarily focus and shift attention and to voluntarily inhibit or initiate behaviors, and includes behaviors such as delaying; these processes are integral to emotion regulation (Caspi & Shiner, 2006;Kieras, Tobin...

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“…Given that effortful control is associated with children's externalizing behavior problems (Olson, Sameroff, Kerr, Lopez, & Wellman, 2005), the work of Rudasill and colleagues provides valuable explanations regarding the way in which teachers interact with and form relationships with children with lower effortful control. Along with evidence indicating that positive teacher-child relationships work to decrease aggression in children (Meehan et aI., 2003), the aforementioned differential effect further highlights the protective potential of positive teacher-child relationships and the necessity of intervening early in the development of coercive relationships.…”

Section: While the Firstmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher motivation as an enhancement to the first step to success early intervention program for children with tertiary level behavioral challenges.

Lee¹

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Developmental foundations of externalizing problems in young children: The role of effortful control

Cited by 131 publications

References 0 publications

Relations of Parenting and Temperament to Chinese Children’s Experience of Negative Life Events, Coping Efficacy, and Externalizing Problems

Relations of Parenting and Temperament to Chinese Children’s Experience of Negative Life Events, Coping Efficacy, and Externalizing Problems

Relations of maternal socialization and toddlers' effortful control to children's adjustment and social competence.

Teacher motivation as an enhancement to the first step to success early intervention program for children with tertiary level behavioral challenges.

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