1-007 - Developmental Correlates of Effortful Control Across Childhood and Adolescence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Effortful control, the temperamental core of self-regulation, is often defined as the capacity to regulate one’s impulses, to motivate the self toward a goal when there are competing desires, and to focus and shift attention easily. Given the nature of effortful control, researchers, policy-makers, and laypersons alike are interested in understanding the factors that contribute to better or worse effortful control, as well as how poor effortful control can lead to detrimental outcomes. The aim of this symposium is to highlight recent research on the developmental correlates of effortful control across childhood and adolescence. The first presentation documents associations between attachment styles and attention problems using meta-analytic data from 59 studies of youth up to 18 years of age. The second presentation investigates curvilinear associations between effortful control and internalizing/externalizing problems among preschoolers. The third presentation examines the role of cumulative adversity and income on change in effortful control, as well as the influence of effortful control on subsequent social-emotional competence and internalizing/externalizing problems, from age 3 to 8. The last presentation uses longitudinal data from an ethnic minority sample to understand the normative developmental trajectory of effortful control from age 10 to 19, and to identify individual, family, social, community, and cultural factors that contribute to changes in effortful control over time. Together, these presentations help elucidate the antecedents and consequences of effortful control across childhood and adolescence, and provide a platform for broader discussions about the importance of improving effortful control among youth.

Sub Unit

• Social, Emotional, Personality

Chairs

• Olivia Emile Atherton, University of California, Davis

• Richard W. Robins, University of California, Davis

Individual Presentations

• Attachment and Attention Problems: A Meta-Analysis - Non-Presenting Author: Susanna Pallini, Università degli Studi Roma Tre; Non-Presenting Author: Mara Morelli, Sapienza Università di Roma; Non-Presenting Author: Antonio Chirumbolo, University of Rome, Sapienza; Non-Presenting Author: Roberto Baiocco, Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Fiorenzo Laghi, University of Rome, Sapienza; Presenting Author: Nancy Eisenberg, Arizona State University

• Curvilinear Relations Between Preschoolers Effortful Control and Their Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems - Presenting Author: Daniel Ewon Choe, University of California, Davis; Non-Presenting Author: Amanda Lawrence, University of California, Davis

• Developmental Timing of the Effects of Income and Adversity on Effortful Control and Adjustment - Presenting Author: Liliana J. Lengua, University of Washington

• Developmental Antecedents of Effortful Control from Late Childhood to Young Adulthood - Presenting Author: Olivia Emile Atherton, University of California, Davis; Non-Presenting Author: Katherine M. Lawson, University of California, Davis; Non-Presenting Author: Richard W. Robins, University of California, Davis