Abstract
Many, but not all, young children with high levels of fearful inhibition will develop internalizing problems. Individual studies have examined either child regulatory or environmental factors that might influence the level of risk. We focused on the interaction of regulation and environment by assessing how early fearful inhibition at age 2, along with inhibitory control and maternal negative behaviors at age 3, interactively predicted internalizing problems at age 6. A total of 218 children (105 boys, 113 girls) and their mothers participated in the study. Results indicated a three-way interaction among fearful inhibition, inhibitory control, and maternal negative behaviors. The correlation between fearful inhibition and internalizing was significant only when children had low inhibitory control and experienced high levels of maternal negative behaviors. Either having high inhibitory control or experiencing low maternal negative behaviors buffered against the adverse effect caused by the absence of the other. These findings highlight the importance of considering associations among both within-child factors and environmental factors in studying children’s socioemotional outcomes.
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This research was supported by grant HD049878 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) awarded to Martha Ann Bell. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD or the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful to the families for their participation in our research.
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Liu, R., Calkins, S.D. & Bell, M.A. Fearful Inhibition, Inhibitory Control, and Maternal Negative Behaviors During Toddlerhood Predict Internalizing Problems at Age 6. J Abnorm Child Psychol 46, 1665–1675 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0419-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0419-5