The Special Role of Middle Childhood in Self-Control Development: Longitudinal and Genetic Evidence

Autor/inn/en	Pener-Tessler, Roni; Markovitch, Noam; Knafo-Noam, Ariel
Titel	The Special Role of Middle Childhood in Self-Control Development: Longitudinal and Genetic Evidence
Quelle	In: Developmental Science, 25 (2022) 5, (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Markovitch, Noam)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1363-755X
DOI	10.1111/desc.13270
Schlagwörter	Self Control; Child Development; Longitudinal Studies; Children; Age Differences; Nature Nurture Controversy; Genetics; Environmental Influences; Mothers; Parent Attitudes + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Selbstbeherrschung; Kindesentwicklung; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Child; Kind; Kinder; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Umweltdebatte; Humangenetik; Environmental influence; Umwelteinfluss; Mother; Mutter; Elternverhalten
Abstract	Despite the importance of self-control for well-being and adjustment, its development from early childhood to early adolescence has been relatively understudied. We addressed the development of mother-reported self-control in what is likely the largest and longest longitudinal twin study of the topic to this day (N = 1889 individual children with data from at least one of five waves: ages 3, 5, 6.5, 8-9 and 11 years). We examined rank-order change in self-control from early childhood to early adolescence, genetic and environmental contributions to variance in the trait and differential developmental trajectories. The relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to change and stability was also examined. Results point at middle childhood as a period of potential transition and change. During this period the rank-order stability of self-control increases, heritability rates substantially rise, and a cross-over occurs in two of the self-control trajectories. Nonadditive genetic effects contribute to both stability and change in self-control while the nonshared environment contributes mostly to change, with no effect for the shared environment. Our findings suggest that new genetic factors, that emerge around age 6.5 and whose effect on self-control is carried on along development, may partially account for changes in self-control around late middle childhood, and explain the growing stability in the trait approaching early adolescence. We discuss the implications of the special role of middle childhood for self-control development. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01