先前的研究和理论表明,早期护理环境的质量在自我调节发展中的重要性。然而,目前还不清楚依恋安全和母亲的敏感性,早期护理环境的两个相关但不同的方面,可以在开学时差异预测自我调节,以及热执行功能和冷执行功能之间的区别是否可以通过调解表征此类预测。在一项为期5年的纵向研究(n=108)中,我们在10-12个月时使用母亲敏感性和依恋安全性的措施检查了这些关联,4岁时的执行功能,6岁时的自我调节。令人惊讶的是,尽管方法严谨,我们发现研究变量之间几乎没有显著的双变量关联.我们没有发现可靠的证据表明母亲的敏感性或婴儿期的依恋安全性与6岁时的自我调节之间存在纵向关联。或者在4岁时的执行功能和6岁时的自我调节之间。缺乏双变量纵向关联使我们无法按照预期构建调解模型。我们从潜在的理论意义上讨论了我们的零发现,以及如何测量类型,可靠性,和有效性,可能在确定早期护理因素与后期自我调节和相关能力之间的纵向关联中起关键作用。研究重点:早期的护理环境与后来的自我调节的发展有关,其中包括更多的基本技能,如热和冷执行功能(EF)。在一项为期5年的纵向研究中,有108个孩子的样本,我们严格测量了早期护理的各个方面,EF,和自我调节。我们发现早期护理和6岁时的自我调节之间没有显著的纵向关联。在4年的EF和6年的自我调节之间也是如此。这些无效结果凸显了对自我调节发展建模的复杂性,并提出了有关自我调节发展研究中一般方法论惯例的关键问题。
Previous research and theory indicate an importance of the quality of the early caregiving environment in the development of self-regulation. However, it is unclear how attachment security and maternal sensitivity, two related but distinct aspects of the early caregiving environment, may differentially predict self-regulation at school start and whether a distinction between hot and cool executive function is informative in characterizing such predictions through mediation. In a 5-year longitudinal study (n = 108), we examined these associations using measures of maternal sensitivity and attachment security at 10-12 months, executive function at 4 years, and self-regulation at 6 years. Surprisingly, and despite methodological rigor, we found few significant bivariate associations between the study variables. We found no credible evidence of a longitudinal association between maternal sensitivity or attachment security in infancy and self-regulation at 6 years, or between executive function at 4 years and self-regulation at 6 years. The lack of bivariate longitudinal associations precluded us from building mediation models as intended. We discuss our null findings in terms of their potential theoretical implications, as well as how measurement type, reliability, and validity, may play a key role in determining longitudinal associations between early caregiving factors and later self-regulation and related abilities. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The early caregiving environment has been implicated in the development of later self-regulation, which includes more basic skills, such as hot and cool executive functions (EF). In a 5-year longitudinal study, with a sample of 108 children, we rigorously measured aspects of early caregiving, EF, and self-regulation. We found no significant longitudinal associations between early caregiving and self-regulation at 6 years, nor between EF at 4 years and self-regulation at 6 years. These null results highlight the complexity of modeling self-regulation development and raise critical questions about general methodological conventions within self-regulation development research.