A longitudinal study of self‐control at the transition to secondary school: Considering the role of pubertal status and parenting

Abstract

Higher self-control in children and adolescents is associated with a range of positive outcomes in adulthood. However, little is known about the naturalistic development of self-control during early adolescence and the factors that affect this. We examined the role of puberty and parenting style as theoretically important influences on stability and change in self-control. A longitudinal (3 waves), multiple-informant dataset of children entering early adolescence (M = 11 years) was used to explore longitudinal change in self-control using latent growth curve modelling. Children's self-control declined during the one-year study period and declines were associated with children's behavioural and social functioning. Associations with self-control were found for pubertal status and parental warmth and hostility, but not for parental discipline. The findings suggest that during early adolescence, when children make the transition to secondary school, self-control declines. This is particularly the case for those experiencing puberty earlier than their peers. Parent warmth influences the trajectory of self-control during this period.

Student-Teacher Relationships As a Protective Factor for School Adjustment during the Transition from Middle to High School

“…The variations recorded in the transition to high school show a small reduction in prosocial behaviors and a significant, but weaker, decrease in hyperactivity/attention. Concerning hyperactivity, the weakness of the transition-related effect may be partly due to normative developmental changes in the executive functions linked with self-regulation, which appear to plateau during in early to mid-adolescence (Ng-Knight et al, 2016), and the relatively short time-span in which observations took place. For the other dimensions examined by the SDQ, instead, there were no significant variations.…”

Parenting styles and body mass index: a systematic review of prospective studies among children

“…Applying Baumrind's and Maccoby and Martin's definition of parenting styles (10,11), constraints could include: (i) insufficient opportunities to exert self-regulation as characterized by the low demandingness of neglectful or permissive parents; and (ii) too many expectations that override child self-control as characterized by the unresponsive demandingness of authoritarian parents. Indeed, observational studies have supported this resource model of self-control and demonstrated the associations of permissive, neglectful and authoritarian parenting with low self-control (19)(20)(21), as well as the relationship between authoritative parenting and high self-control (15)(16)(17)22). Studies have also demonstrated an association between neglectful parenting and higher rates of depression and poorer psychosocial development (15,22).…”

A four‐stage longitudinal study exploring pupils’ experiences, preparation and support systems during primary–secondary school transitions

“…Rice et al (2011) also argue that the focus of research on the first year of secondary school is inappropriate, as transition will likely happen over a longer period of time with children needing this extended time to adapt. However, most studies, including their own, have collected data at two time points (Jindal-Snape & Foggie, 2008;Jindal-Snape & Miller, 2008;Rice et al, 2011;Waters et al, 2014a) and where data were collected over three points, this was usually either over two school years within a 12-month period (Jindal-Snape et al, 2011) or across one school year within a 12-month period (Ng-Knight et al, 2016). West et al (2010) and Benner and Graham (2009) are an exception, as their studies span a number of years.…”