Record Details
Supporting children who struggle with self-regulation : the role of early family risk and child care quality
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Supporting children who struggle with self-regulation : the role of early family risk and child care quality |
| Names |
Pratt, Megan E.
(creator) McClelland, Megan (advisor) Lipscomb, Shannon (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 2014-06-09 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 2015 |
| Abstract | Children's early self-regulation skills have long-term implications for a variety of academic, social, and health outcomes. Unfortunately, children facing multiple family risk factors (e.g., harsh parenting, economic disadvantage) are more likely to struggle with early self-regulation. Despite early disparities in self-regulation, promising intervention evidence suggests that high quality prekindergarten experiences can improve children's self-regulation skills, especially for children with self-regulatory challenges. At this point, few studies have examined how children's self-regulation may differ according to the unique combinations of family risks they experience during their first three years of life. Furthermore, it remains largely unknown how children's experiences in typical early care and education settings relate to their self-regulation development. To address these gaps in the literature, this dissertation includes two studies focused on understanding children with low early self-regulation. The first study addressed how distinct combinations of family risk factors (i.e., family risk profiles), as experienced during the first three years of life, predicted children's self-regulation at 36-months. Person-centered analyses indicated children's family risk experiences were captured by three distinct family risk profiles: 1) low risk, 2) low-income/low cognitive stimulation/single parent (ICS), and 3) low-income/low cognitive stimulation/high parental harshness (ICH). Each of the three profiles predicted significant differences in children's early self-regulation, with children characterized by the profile including high harshness (ICH) exhibiting the lowest self-regulation skills. Study 2 examined how two dimensions of early care and education process quality (positivity/responsivity and cognitive stimulation) experienced during children's prekindergarten year predicted their subsequent self-regulation in the fall of kindergarten. This study also considered children's earlier self-regulation as a moderator of both quality dimensions. Results indicated that higher positivity/responsivity predicted stronger self-regulation in the fall of kindergarten for children with low early self-regulation, but not for the overall sample. Cognitive stimulation did not predict children's self-regulation in kindergarten, regardless of early self-regulation skills. Overall, findings from these studies help explain why some children struggle more with early self-regulation than others, and how high quality early care and education can support children's transition to kindergarten, particularly for children with low early self-regulation. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | self-regulation |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/50421 |
