Self-Regulation in relation to emotional and social development of preschool children

Dosedanje raziskave samoregulacije ter socialnega in emocionalnega razvoja kažejo na povezanost med temi pomembnimi področji. Otroci z višjo samoregulacijo so bolj kompetentni na socialnem in emocionalnem področju, kar vpliva tudi na njihov kasnejši razvoj. Uspešna samoregulacija je pomemben razvojni mejnik v otroštvu in je celo prediktor kasnejšega uspeha na številnih življenjskih področjih. Namen naše raziskave je bil na populaciji otrok starih od 4 do 6 let ugotoviti povezanost toplega (prizadevni nadzor) in hladnega (izvršilne funkcije) aspekta samoregulacije ter povezanost slednjega z emocionalno stabilnostjo in prosocialnim vedenjem. Hoteli smo ugotoviti tudi spolne razlike otrok pri prizadevnem nadzoru, razlike v prizadevnem nadzoru glede na zakonski oz. partnerski status staršev ter razlike pri ocenjevanju prizadevnega nadzora s strani njihovih staršev in vzgojiteljev. V raziskavo je bilo vključenih 115 otrok iz dveh vrtcev na Hrvaškem, podatke pa smo pridobili tudi od njihovih staršev in vzgojiteljev. Prizadevni nadzor smo merili s kratko obliko Vprašalnika o vedenju otrok, izvršilne funkcije pa s Testom dimenzionalnega sortiranja kartic. Socialni razvoj otrok se je meril s Skalo za ocenjevanje prosocialnega in agresivnega vedenja, emocionalni razvoj pa z Ilustriranim projektivnim vprašalnikom emocionalne stabilnosti. Socio-demografske podatke smo pridobili z Vprašalnikom o osnovnih sociodemografskih podatkih. Rezultati korelacijske analize in analize variance so pokazali, da med prizadevnim nadzorom in izvršilnimi funkcijami obstaja statistično pomembna pozitivna korelacija, podobno kot med prizadevnim nadzorom in emocionalno stabilnostjo ter prosocialnim vedenjem in med izvršilnimi funkcijami in emocionalno stabilnostjo. Prav tako se pokazalo, da obstaja statistično pomembna razlika v prizadevnem nadzoru otrok glede na spol otrok, zakonski oz. partnerski status staršev ter med ocenjevanjem prizadevnega nadzora predšolskih otrok s strani njihovih staršev ter vzgojiteljev. Pomembne praktične implikacije naše raziskave se nanašajo na pridobivanje večjega razumevanja vloge samoregulacije pri emocionalnem in socialnem vedenju otrok, možnost spodbujanja socialnega razvoja predšolskih otrok skozi spodbujanje njihovih samoregulatornih sposobnosti in kapacitet ter potrebo pridobivanja podatkov o samoregulaciji otrok iz različnih virov.Previous researches on self-regulation and social and emotional development show the connection between these important areas. Children with higher self-regulation are more competent in the social and emotional field, which also influences their later development. Successful self-regulation is an important development milestone in childhood and is even a predictor of later success in many areas of life. The aim of our research was to determine the correlation between warm (effortful control) and cold (executive function) aspects of self-regulation and the connection of the latter with emotional stability and pro-social behaviour on the population of children aged 4 to 6 years. We wanted to find out also the gender differences of children in effortful control, the differences in effortful control according to the marital status and partner status of parents and differences in the assessment of effortful control by their parents and educators. The study included 115 children from two kindergartens in Croatia, and data were also obtained from their parents and educators. The effortful control was measured with the short form of the Children\u27s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), and the executive function with the Dimensional Card Sort Test (DCCS). The social development of children was measured by the Scale for assessing prosocial and aggressive behaviour, and emotional development with the Illustrated projective questionnaire of emotional stability. We obtained socio-demographic data with the Questionnaire on basic sociodemographic data. The results of correlation analysis and variance analysis have shown that there is statistically significant positive correlation between effortful control and executive functions, similar as between effortful control and emotional stability and pro-social behavior and between executive functions and emotional stability. It has also been indicated that there is a statistically significant difference in the effortful control of children according to the gender of children, martial status of parents and during the evaluation of the effortful control of preschool children by their parents and educators. The important practical implications of our research are related to gaining a better understanding of the role of self-regulation in the emotional and social behaviour of children, the possibility of promoting the social development of pre-school children through the promotion of their self-regulatory abilities and capacities, and the need to obtain information on self-regulation of children from different sources