The relationship between problem behaviors in the classroom and self-regulation and executive function among...

Four years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, problematic behavior among children has increased in Miyagi Prefecture, which suffered severe damage. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to clarify how teacher-assessed classroom behavior problems relate to self-regulation and the executive functions of working memory and inhibitory control in five-year-old children living in Miyagi Prefecture, an area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The participants were 112 children (58 boys and 54 girls, mean age = 71.5 months, SD = 3.61). Executive function and self-regulation were assessed through standardized tasks, while behavioral problems were rated by teachers. Multiple regression analysis revealed that children's self-regulation was associated with teacher-reported social, attentional, and aggressive problems. Attention problems were also linked to auditory working memory. These findings suggest that strengthening children's self-regulation and its underlying executive functions-particularly inhibitory control and auditory working memory-may help prevent behavioral difficulties in children following large-scale natural disasters.