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.