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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2025

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

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Published on: February 11, 2017

Self-Regulation in Preschool: Are Executive Function and Effortful Control Overlapping Constructs?

Henning Heinze^1,2, Monika Daseking^1,2, Caterina Gawrilow^2,3

¹Developmental and Educational Psychology, Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Developmental Science

|December 16, 2024

Summary

Executive function (EF) and effortful control (EC) are closely related concepts in self-regulation. While distinct, measures of EF and EC show significant overlap in preschool-aged children.

Keywords:

confirmatory factory analysis effortful control executive functions preschool self‐regulation temperament

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Area of Science:

Developmental psychology
Cognitive neuroscience
Child development

Background:

Executive function (EF) involves cognitive processes for goal-directed self-regulation.
Effortful control (EC) relates to the efficiency of executive attention and response inhibition.
Both EF and EC are crucial for self-regulation in children.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the association between executive function (EF) and effortful control (EC) in preschoolers.
To determine the conceptual overlap and distinctiveness of EF and EC constructs.
To examine how these self-regulatory constructs relate in early development.

Main Methods:

Eighty-eight preschoolers (mean age 3.93 years) were assessed using a computerized EF battery (EF Touch).
Parental questionnaires (BRIEF-P, CBQ) were used to measure EF impairments and EC.
Correlations and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to analyze construct associations.

Main Results:

Significant correlations were found between measures of EF and EC.
A two-factor model provided a better fit than a one-factor model, indicating distinctiveness.
Results suggest substantial overlap but also separability between EF and EC.

Conclusions:

Executive function and effortful control are closely related but separable constructs in preschool-aged children.
Understanding the interplay between EF and EC is vital for comprehending early self-regulation development.
These findings contribute to the nuanced understanding of self-regulatory mechanisms in development.