Exploring the Connections Between School Readiness, Self-Control, and Risky Behavior

• In Event: New Advances in Predictors and Consequences of Self & Social Control

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the associations between non-academic school readiness, self-control, and risky behavior. Non-academic school readiness is composed of three latent factors capturing social competence, emotional competence, and behavior regulation. These three domains are intimately related to self-control, but they are not traditional self-control measures. In fact, school-readiness research is often omitted from discussions of self-control. To begin bridging this interdisciplinary gap, two key research questions are addressed. First, how is non-academic school readiness at age 5 associated with self-control at age 17? Second, how does non-academic school readiness at age 5 relate to risky behavior at age 17? These questions are addressed by fitting generalized structural equation models to data from a longitudinal birth cohort study. Findings demonstrate that non-academic school-readiness at age 5 is significantly associated with self-control at age 17, which has a significant association with risky behavior at age 17. These findings suggest that school-readiness is an important avenue of research for criminologists, and we should continue to bridge this interdisciplinary gap.

Author

• Kelly Guinn, ICF, International