Is children's self-control deteriorating? : Change in self-regulation and environment.

2002年对396名学龄前儿童进行了自我调节能力的评估。在一个新开发的实验环境中，部分儿童也被检查了他们的自我调节行为。结果表明，幼儿的自我调节行为随情境的变化而变化。照顾者和教师的评分不高度相关。实验评估的自我调节行为反映了儿童评级调节的某些方面，但不是全部。第二年，老师再次对201名学龄前儿童进行了评分，并调查了他们自我调节能力的变化。将2002年的横断面研究结果与2002-2003年的纵向研究结果进行比较，发现横断面研究可能由于队列效应而低估了自我控制和自我主张的发展。考虑到这一结果和其他先例的研究，儿童的自我调节能力在四到五岁之间发展显著，此后增长缓慢。

Three hundreds and ninety six preschoolers were evaluated their self-regulation by caregivers and teachers respectively in 2002. A part of children were also examined their self-regulating behaviors in a newly developed experimental setting. Results indicated that the self-regulative behaviors of preschoolers changes with situations. The ratings of caregivers and teachers are not highly correlated. Experimentally evaluated self-regulative behaviours reflects some aspects of children's rated regulation but not all of them.Two hundreds and one preschoolers were rated again in the next year by teachers and the change of self-regulation was investigated. Compared the results from cross-sectional study in 2002 to that from longitudinal study in 2002-2003, it is suggested that the development of self-control and self-assertion are likely to underestimated in the cross-sectional study because of cohort effects.Taking account with this results and the other precedent studies together, children's self-regulation develops significantly from the fourth to the fifth years of life, and grow slowly after that.