Developmental links between executive function and emotion regulation in early toddlerhood

Area of Science:

• Developmental psychology
• Cognitive science
• Child development

Background:

• Early executive function (EF) and problem behaviors are linked, suggesting early cognition-affect interplay.
• Longitudinal toddler studies rarely measure both EF and emotion regulation (ER) directly.
• Existing ER research often relies on lab-based mother-child observations, limiting contextual understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the longitudinal associations between EF and ER in toddlers.
• To examine these associations in both mother-toddler and father-toddler dyads.
• To explore the predictive utility of early EF for later ER, considering contextual factors.

Main Methods:

• 197 families participated, with video-based ER ratings during toddler play with mothers and fathers at 14 and 24 months.
• Parallel measures of EF were collected during home visits at both time points.
• Cross-lagged analyses were used to examine predictive relationships between EF and ER.

Main Results:

• Executive function (EF) at 14 months predicted emotion regulation (ER) at 24 months.
• This predictive association was specific to toddler-mother interactions.
• Emotion regulation (ER) at 14 months did not predict executive function (EF) at 24 months.

Conclusions:

• Findings support co-regulation models of early emotion regulation (ER).
• Early individual differences in executive function (EF) are predictive of later emotion regulation (ER) in toddlerhood.
• The findings underscore the importance of early cognitive skills and the specific role of maternal interactions in this developmental pathway.