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. 2021 Jan;92(1):335-350.
doi: 10.1111/cdev.13426. Epub 2020 Aug 7.

Inhibitory Control Across the Preschool Years: Developmental Changes and Associations with Parenting

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Inhibitory Control Across the Preschool Years: Developmental Changes and Associations with Parenting

Sanne B Geeraerts et al. Child Dev. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

The normative developmental course of inhibitory control between 2.5 and 6.5 years, and associations with maternal and paternal sensitivity and intrusiveness were tested. The sample consisted of 383 children (52.5% boys). During four annual waves, mothers and fathers reported on their children's inhibitory control using the Children's Behavior Questionnaire. During the first wave, mothers' and fathers' sensitivity and intrusiveness were observed and coded with the Emotional Availability Scales. Inhibitory control exhibited partial scalar invariance over time, and increased in a decelerating rate. For both mothers and fathers, higher levels of sensitivity were associated with a higher initial level of children's inhibitory control, whereas higher levels of intrusiveness predicted a slower increase in children's inhibitory control.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Growth curves and individual trajectories for inhibitory control at at least 1 sd below and above the mean of parental intrusiveness (left) and sensitivity (right). Shaded areas represent 95% confidence intervals. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

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