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Becoming more or less mature? The decline of self‐control in middle childhood
Author(s) -
Ong Xiang Ling,
Hong Ryan Y.,
Tsai FenFang,
Tan Seok Hui
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/jopy.12434
Subject(s) - psychology , temperament , developmental psychology , self control , socioeconomic status , normative , multilevel model , association (psychology) , personality , demography , social psychology , population , philosophy , epistemology , machine learning , sociology , computer science , psychotherapist
Objective This study examined the developmental change in self‐control and its association with daily stressful events during middle childhood, as well as the factors that contribute to individual differences in the trajectory of self‐control. Method A community sample of 302 Singaporean children (42% female, 69% Chinese) and their parents were recruited when the children were age 7. Follow‐up assessments were made when the children were ages 8, 9, and 11. Developmental changes were examined using latent growth and autoregressive cross‐lagged models. Results Self‐control showed a normative decline over time, and this trajectory was associated with an increase in daily stressful events. There was partial evidence for a reciprocal relationship between self‐control and daily stressful events over time. Moreover, the child temperament dimension of effortful control (assessed at age 7) mitigated the decline in self‐control, whereas low socioeconomic status predicted lower initial levels of self‐control. Conclusions This study advances current understanding on the developmental change in self‐control during middle childhood, as well as the factors that shape the direction and magnitude of this change.