Abstract
The mediating and moderating roles of self-regulation in the associations of dispositional anger and fear to later conduct and anxiety symptoms were tested. Mothers and teachers rated children's anger and fear at 54 months (N = 191), and mothers reported on children's symptoms of anxiety and conduct disorders at 72 and 84 months (Ns = 169 and 144). Children's self-regulatory ability was assessed using the Tower of Hanoi task at 72 months. Children's self-regulation mediated the association between early dispositional fear and 84-month mother-reported anxiety disorder symptoms above and beyond the effects of earlier generalized anxiety symptoms. Children's anger directly predicted relatively high mother-reported conduct and anxiety disorder symptoms. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of considering self-regulation as potential mechanism relating early childhood dispositional reactivity to later psychopathology symptoms.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 60-69 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology |
Volume | 38 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2015 |
Keywords
- Conduct disorder
- Dispositional anger
- Dispositional fear
- General anxiety
- Self-regulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology