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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Effortful control, social competence, and adjustment problems in children at risk for psychopathology
Tracy A Dennis1, Laurie Miller Brotman, Keng-Yen Huang
1Psychology Department, Hunter College of the CUNY, New York, NY 10021, USA. tracy.dennis@hunter.cuny.edu
Abstract:
This study explored the factor structure and developmental trajectory of effortful control (EC), its relations with child adjustment, and the moderating role of age and gender in 75 4- to 6-year-old children at risk for psychopathology. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed two subcomponents of effortful control: Suppress/Initiate (the ability to inhibit a dominant response while initiating a new response) and Motor Control (inhibiting fine and gross motor activity). EC performance improved with age, and both subcomponents were associated with greater social competence at all ages. Associations with internalizing problems were moderated by child age such that greater EC was linked to fewer problems at age 4 but did not relate to problems at ages 5 or 6.
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