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Direct and Indirect Effects of the Family Check-Up on Self-Regulation from Toddlerhood to Early School-Age

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Abstract

We examined the development of children’s inhibitory control from toddlerhood to early school-age (i.e., ages 2 to 7.5 years), investigated the effects of the Family Check-Up on the growth of inhibitory control, and explored whether such effects transferred to the school context. Participants were 731 low-income children (49 % female). Results indicated that parental reports of inhibitory control showed positive, nonlinear increase with the growth decelerating over time. Moreover, children in the intervention condition demonstrated higher levels of growth in parental ratings of inhibitory control compared to the control condition. More importantly, the intervention had indirect effects on teacher reports of children’s self-control and oppositional defiant behavior as well as examiner ratings of self-control through its promotion of growth in inhibitory control. The findings are discussed with respect to implications for more specifically targeting the promotion of self-regulation in early childhood in addition to reduction in early problem behavior.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants 023245 and 2003723 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to the second, third, and fifth authors. This paper was also supported by Samsung Research Fund, Sungkyunkwan University, 2012 to the first author. We are grateful to the staff and study families of the Early Steps Project for making this research possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Sungkyunkwan University, 25-2 Sungkyunkwan-Ro, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, South Korea

    Hyein Chang

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Daniel S. Shaw

  3. Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Thomas J. Dishion

  4. Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Frances Gardner

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Melvin N. Wilson

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  1. Hyein Chang
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Correspondence to Hyein Chang.

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Chang, H., Shaw, D.S., Dishion, T.J. et al. Direct and Indirect Effects of the Family Check-Up on Self-Regulation from Toddlerhood to Early School-Age. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42, 1117–1128 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9859-8

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