The Prospective Relationship Between Childhood Self-control and Adult Parenting Behaviors: A Thirty-year Follow-up...

To examine whether self-control in first grade predicts later parenting.

Participants were first graders enrolled in a universal preventive intervention trial in 1993 to improve behavior and school achievement. By 2023, n = 221 participants were parents of children aged 4 to 15 years. Pre-intervention, self-control was assessed using the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised. Latent profile analysis identified 3 profiles of childhood self-control: high (n = 101, 45.7%), inattentive (n = 87, 39.4%), and inattentive/hyperactive (n = 33, 14.9%). The association between self-control profiles and later parent-rated discipline consistency and enjoyment of parenting from the Structured Interview of Parent Management Skills and Practices was evaluated using latent profile regression. The association between self-control and observed parent sensitivity, intrusiveness, and positive/negative regard for the child was explored in a subset (n = 81).

The high and inattentive childhood self-control profiles were more likely to discipline consistently versus the inattentive/hyperactive profile (Wald(2) = 8.55, p = 0.01). Self-control did not predict enjoyment of parenting (Wald(2) = 3.30, p = 0.19). Compared with the high profile, the inattentive/hyperactive and inattentive profiles exhibited greater positive regard for the child (Wald(2) = 11.03, p = 0.004).

Childhood self-control may provide a foundation for discipline consistency as a parent. Individual differences in regulatory functioning that pose challenges in childhood might confer unexpected parenting benefits, underscoring the need for a life course perspective.