TY - JOUR
T1 - Components of effortful control and their relations to children's shyness
AU - Eggum-Wilkens, Natalie D.
AU - Reichenberg, Ray E.
AU - Eisenberg, Nancy
AU - Spinrad, Tracy
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (2 R01 MH060838) awarded to Drs. Nancy Eisenberg and Tracy L. Spinrad.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2015.
PY - 2016/11/1
Y1 - 2016/11/1
N2 - Relations between children's (n = 213) mother-reported effortful control components (attention focusing, attention shifting, inhibitory control at 42 months; activational control at 72 months) and mother-reported shyness trajectories across 42, 54, 72, and 84 months of age were examined. In growth models, shyness decreased. Inhibitory control and attention shifting predicted higher levels and lower levels of shyness at 42 months (the intercept), respectively. Inhibitory control negatively, and attention shifting positively, predicted the shyness slope. Children with higher inhibitory control had relatively more rapid decreases in shyness. Children with higher attention shifting had relatively slower decreases in shyness. Activational control was negatively correlated with the shyness intercept. Effortful control components should be examined separately, rather than in combination, in relation to shyness in the future. If results are replicated, it may suggest that fostering attention shifting and activational control development helps prevent, or maintain low levels of, shyness during childhood.
AB - Relations between children's (n = 213) mother-reported effortful control components (attention focusing, attention shifting, inhibitory control at 42 months; activational control at 72 months) and mother-reported shyness trajectories across 42, 54, 72, and 84 months of age were examined. In growth models, shyness decreased. Inhibitory control and attention shifting predicted higher levels and lower levels of shyness at 42 months (the intercept), respectively. Inhibitory control negatively, and attention shifting positively, predicted the shyness slope. Children with higher inhibitory control had relatively more rapid decreases in shyness. Children with higher attention shifting had relatively slower decreases in shyness. Activational control was negatively correlated with the shyness intercept. Effortful control components should be examined separately, rather than in combination, in relation to shyness in the future. If results are replicated, it may suggest that fostering attention shifting and activational control development helps prevent, or maintain low levels of, shyness during childhood.
KW - Shyness
KW - effortful control
KW - regulation
KW - trajectory
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U2 - 10.1177/0165025415597792
DO - 10.1177/0165025415597792
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84994106602
SN - 0165-0254
VL - 40
SP - 544
EP - 554
JO - International Journal of Behavioral Development
JF - International Journal of Behavioral Development
IS - 6
ER -