Poster #121 - Indirect effects of toddler Surgency on childhood socioemotional outcomes: mediation through Effortful Control

• In Event: Poster Session 17

Abstract

Social competence, a fundamental ability to initiate and maintain effective interactions with peers (Rubin et al., 2006), and externalizing behaviors are two forms of socioemotional outcomes in early childhood. Temperamental Surgency may act as a foundation for both outcomes. Surgent children are energetic and higher in approach behaviors, resulting in more sociable interactions, but can also be impulsive and aggressive, resulting in maladaptive outcomes like externalizing behaviors and peer rejection (Behrendt et al., 2020; Gunnar et al, 2003; Kohanska & Radke-Yarrow, 1992). Surgency has also been found to predict Effortful Control (Putnam et al., 2008), which may be an important regulatory mechanism that differentiates these two outcomes. However, the direction of the relation between Surgency and Effortful Control is age dependent, a finding regarding the heterotypic continuity of the two traits that is lesser understood (Putnam et al., 2008). Taken together, the current study has two aims: to assess the direct relation between toddler Surgency and preschool Effortful Control, and to assess the mediating role of Effortful Control in predicting two different socioemotional outcomes.

Data from 318 children (163 girls) were utilized at 2-, 4-, and 6-years of age. Prior to each visit, mothers completed a battery of age-appropriate questionnaires. The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (age 2; Putnam et al., 2006) was used to assess Surgency, the Child Behavior Questionnaire (age 4; Rothbart et al., 2001) to assess Effortful Control, and Child Behavior Checklist (age 6; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) to assess both outcomes of Total Competence and Externalizing behaviors. A path analysis was conducted in Mplus (Muthén & Muthén, 2017) using full information maximum likelihood to assess the longitudinal relations between toddler Surgency, socioemotional outcomes in early childhood, and the mediating role of preschool Effortful Control.

Descriptive statistics and correlations are reported in Table 1. After controlling for child sex, Figure 1 depicts standardized estimates for an indirect effects model predicting 6-year Total Competence and Externalizing behaviors. Model fit was acceptable (x2 = 7.72, p = .05; RMSEA = 0.07 (90% CI 0.00 – 0.13); CFI = .93). Toddler Surgency significantly and positively predicted age 4 Effortful Control (β = .173, p = .02). Effortful Control positively predicted Total Competence (β = .322, p = .00) and fewer Externalizing behaviors (β = -.285, p = 00) at age 6. Bootstrapped confidence intervals were estimated to explore indirect effects. Both the indirect paths to Total Competence (β = .056, SE = .026, CI [.012, .115]) and Externalizing behaviors (β = -.049, SE = .025, CI [-.111, -.010]) were significant, signifying toddler Surgency is an indirect predictor of both Total Competence and Externalizing behaviors through Effortful Control. Findings add to the heterotypic continuity literature and highlight the importance of Effortful Control in differentially predicting socioemotional outcomes in temperamentally surgent children.

Authors

• Briana Ermanni, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  Presenting Author

• Martha Ann Bell, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University