How does inhibitory control predict emotion regulation in preschool? The role of individual children’s interactions with teachers and peers.

Abstract

Emotion regulation is foundational to children's psychological wellbeing and future school adjustment. As young children are spending increasing amounts of time in preschool programs, investigating how early childhood classrooms can foster emotion regulation development is warranted. In this study, we tested individual children's interactions with teachers and peers as potential mechanisms through which inhibitory control supports emotion regulation in the preschool classroom. Participants included 767 preschool children (49% female; M = 4.39 years old, SD = .08) from low-income households (income-toneeds ratio M = 1.45, SD = 1.06). Fifty percent of children were Black, 22% White, 13% Latino, and 15% Other race/ethnicity. Children completed direct assessments of inhibitory control in the fall, teachers reported on children's emotion regulation in the fall and spring of the preschool year, and trained observers rated the quality of individual children's interactions with teachers and peers in the fall, winter, and spring. Accounting for earlier emotion regulation, mediation analyses indicated that children's inhibitory control operates through individual children's (a) positive interactions with peers and (b) negative interactions with teachers and peers to support their subsequent emotion regulation. These findings underscore the role of the preschool classroom as an emotion socialization context for children from low-income households, along with providing additional evidence about the importance of social interactions to understand children's emotional development in context.

Inhibitory control and mood in relation to psychological resilience: an ecological momentary assessment study

“…In line with this notion, it has been shown that better IC is associated with better resilience to potential interruptions 18 , 19 , with better control over emotional reactivity 20 , and with memory suppression following trauma 21 . In addition, resilience following childhood adversity was associated with enhanced inhibitory control abilities over task-irrelevant negative information 10 , and impairments in inhibitory control during emotional tasks was suggested to increase the risk for depression 13 , 22 .…”

Language and executive function relationships in the real world: insights from deafness

“…In the early years parent-child, as well as, peer interactions provide opportunities to observe and extract models of appropriate behaviours and participate in conversational exchanges (Jung & Short, 2002). Furthermore, parents modulate children's behaviour and help them to regulate their emotions (Alamos et al, 2022). The behavioural regulation aspects of EF are thus functioning before typically developing hearing children reach 6 years old and in deaf children with deaf parents.…”

Práctica de Mindfulness en la Escuela y su Impacto en la Atención Selectiva, la Atención Sostenida y el Control Inhibitorio en Niños de 9 a 11 Años.

“…Es así como el presente trabajo tiene el objetivo de evaluar el impacto de una intervención grupal realizada en el ámbito escolar, basada en mindfulness, sobre la atención sostenida, la atención selectiva y el control inhibitorio en alumnos de 9 a 11 años. Motiva la decisión de analizar el impacto sobre el control inhibitorio, por sobre otras funciones ejecutivas, en primer lugar, por el rol esencial en el desarrollo infantil del control inhibitorio, ya que está estrechamente relacionado con la capacidad de los niños para regular su comportamiento, resistir impulsos y tomar decisiones reflexivas (Alamos et al, 2022, Carlson & Wang, 2007, Fino et al, 2014. Y en segundo lugar, dado que la intervención se basa en mindfulness, que implica la conciencia y regulación de los procesos mentales, el control inhibitorio es particularmente pertinente, ya que está relacionado con la capacidad de regular respuestas automáticas y dirigir la atención de manera consciente (Bedard et al, 2002;Neill et al, 1995;Veer et al, 2017).…”