ERIC Number: EJ934436
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Examining the Dimensionality of Effortful Control in Preschool Children and Its Relation to Academic and Socioemotional Indicators
Allan, Nicholas P.; Lonigan, Christopher J.
Developmental Psychology, v47 n4 p905-915 Jul 2011
Effortful control (EC) is an important developmental construct, associated with socioemotional growth, academic performance, and psychopathology. EC is defined as the ability to execute goal-directed behavior to inhibit or delay a prepotent response in favor of a subdominant response. Extant research indicates that EC may be multidimensional. Confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 234 preschoolers was used to determine if tasks designed to measure EC were best described by hot (affectively salient) and cool (affectively neutral) dimensions or by a single factor. Analyses revealed that EC is best described by a single factor, even when variance associated with children's language skills was removed. This EC factor was strongly related to measures of academic performance and significantly less related to measures of socioemotional development. (Contains 5 tables.)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Preschool Children, Psychopathology, Factor Analysis, Language Skills, Self Control, Child Development, Developmental Stages, Goal Orientation, Social Influences, Emotional Development, Social Development, Delay of Gratification, Phonological Awareness, Social Behavior, Correlation, Behavior Problems
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A