Self-regulation in preschoolers is related to social school readiness: An analysis of performance-based measures of effortful control and executive functioning

This study quantitatively explored a causal model of the association between two focal self-regulation constructs (executive functioning and effortful control) and social school readiness in preschoolers. The population comprised all preschool children and their mothers who resided in Tehran (2018-2019). With the help of their mothers, 342 children with a mean age of five years completed the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB; 1994), the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (Very Short Form) – (CBQ-VSF; 2006), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; 2001), and the Social School Readiness Scale (1982). The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS 22. Effortful control and socio-emotional competence significantly affected social school readiness (p 0.01). Moreover, executive functioning affected social school readiness, mediated by effortful control in the alternative model (p 0.01). These findings expand the existing early childhood research by specifying the link between two major aspects of self-regulation and social-emotional school readiness. An integrative approach considering the behavioral and neuropsychological measurements of self-regulation would help elucidate the predictors of social school readiness in early childhood.