A Multi-Method Examination of Self-Regulation Processes in Preschool-aged Children
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Date
2025-05
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Publisher
Vanderbilt University
Abstract
Self-regulation is a multi-faceted developmental construct that relates to all aspects of a child’s functioning. However, specific self-regulation constructs and their associations within the preschool age period are not well established. Understanding self-regulation at the point of action involves assessing associations amongst reward, risk-taking, and impulsivity. The current study examined reward responsiveness as it relates to risk-taking and impulsivity in a sample of 44 preschool-aged (M = 4.27 years, SD = 0.75) children. Approximately half of the children experienced neonatal opioid exposure. We used a multi-method approach, which included a neural measure of reward responsiveness (i.e., RewP), behavioral measures of risk-taking and impulsivity, and parent-reported impulsivity. Results did not indicate statistically significant associations between risk-taking and impulsivity, potentially due in part to the relatively small sample size. For reward responsiveness, although we did not observe a statistically significant difference between RewP conditions, the RewP to loss component was significantly related to parent-report impulsivity.
Description
Keywords: self-regulation, reward responsiveness, reward positivity, risk-taking, impulsivity, preschool-aged