Focus on Self-Regulation
- Early self-regulation has a stronger association with school readiness than IQ or entry-level reading or math (Blair, 2002. 2003; Normandeau & Guay, 1998).
- Two components of self regulation, working memory and inhibitory control, each independently predict arithmetic competence in preschoolers (Espy et al., 2004) and are important for reading acquisition (Torgeson et al., 1992).
- Lack of self-regulation may also stand in the way of a child’s developing positive teacher-child interactions in kindergarten, which, in turn, predict poor academic performance as well as behavior problems in later years (e.g., Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Raver & Knitzer, 2002).
- EF abilities continue to be closely associated with academic achievement in school-age children (Bull & Scerif, 2001; Gathercole et al., 2005; Kibby et al., 2004; Zametkin & Ernst, 1999).
- Social-emotional self-regulation seems to be related to the ability to regulate learning-related social behaviors, such as listening to and following directions, staying on task (McClelland & Morrison, 2003; McClelland, Morrison, & Holmes, 2000)
- The incidence of mental health diagnoses and of social ills reflecting problems in self-regulation is increasing dramatically.
- The number of children taking ADHD medication, which one could argue is a result of being diagnosed with the inability to exercise inhibitory control, has increased 400% since 1995 (Zametkin & Ernst, 1999).
- Lack of social-emotional regulation is associated with aggression and lack of social skills, emotional outbursts, inattention and feelings of being overwhelmed (Saarni, 1999).
- Anti-social behavior is on the rise even in preschool, reflected in such statistics as preschool expulsion rates (Gilliam, 2005).
- Children lacking emotional self-regulation are at higher risk for disciplinary problems (Huffman, Mehlinger, & Kerivan, 2000).
- Children who have not learned self-regulation in preschool can develop aggressive habits of interaction that are difficult to break in later years (Brody et al., 2003; Nagin & Tremblay, 1999).
- There is some evidence that these two facets of self-regulatory ability are connected: children lacking emotional self-control are likely to have problems with the regulation of cognitive processes, such as attention (Derryberry & Reed, 1996; LeDoux, 1996).
- The number of children taking ADHD medication, which one could argue is a result of being diagnosed with the inability to exercise inhibitory control, has increased 400% since 1995 (Zametkin & Ernst, 1999).