Abstract
Zusammenfassung. Flexible Zielanpassungsprozesse sind mit psychischer sowie physischer Gesundheit assoziiert. Dabei wird die kindliche Selbstregulation als Entwicklungsbedingung diskutiert, Studien zum Zusammenhang der Entwicklung von Selbstregulation und kindlichen Zielanpassungsprozessen existieren bislang jedoch nicht. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht bei N = 97 3- bis 6-jährigen Kindern und ihren Eltern Zusammenhänge sowie Entwicklungstrends kindlicher Selbstregulation – gemessen im Fremdurteil (BRIEF-P) sowie auf Verhaltensebene (Gift Delay) – und flexiblen Zielanpassungsprozessen. Während junge Kinder (entgegen der Erwartung) signifikant stärkere Zielanpassung bei geringer Selbstregulation aufweisen, zeigen ältere Kinder mit ausgeprägter Zielanpassung tendenziell eine höhere Selbstregulation. Die vorliegenden Befunde unterstreichen die Bedeutsamkeit der Entwicklung von Selbstregulation für flexible Zielanpassungsprozesse im jungen Vorschulalter.
Abstract. Flexible goal adjustment is viewed as an adaptive coping resource and is associated with mental and physical health as well as with greater life satisfaction and well-being. The two-process model of developmental regulation assumes specific cognitive processes (e. g., mind sets) as essential conditions for flexible goal adjustment, although the developmental antecedents of the individual’s capabilities of goal adjustment are rarely investigated. In this study, self-regulatory processes in childhood (e. g., executive function [EF] or abilities for delayed gratification) are hypothesized to be conditions for the development of adaptive regulatory processes. Cognitive control processes, such as EF (e. g., emotional control processes, attention shifting, and inhibition), are believed to serve as basic functions underlying flexible goal adjustment. According to empirical studies, EFs are interpreted as higher cognitive and self-regulatory processes that control a person’s thinking, feeling, and acting with the aim of emotionally and behaviorally flexible reactions. Numerous findings at preschool age emphasize a crucial phase of development between the third and fifth year of life when the effectivity of EF improves. However, research on the development of self-regulation in relation to flexible goal adjustment is lacking. The present empirical study on 3- to 6-year-old children (N = 97) and their parents examines relations and developmental trends of children’s self-regulation, measured by parents’ proxy reports (BRIEF-P) and behavioral data (Gift-Delay Task), and flexible goal adjustment, measured by reactive adjustment of preferences. We expect positive correlations between the child’s self-regulation and flexible goal adjustment, which should be displayed more clearly with age and maturation of executive control. Contrary to our expectations, young children with low self-regulation demonstrate more goal adjustment than young children with high self-regulatory skills. By contrast, our results suggest (albeit insignificantly) that older children with high self-regulation show more goal adjustment than older children with low self-regulatory skills. One possible explanation could be that children acquire flexible goal adjustment as adaptive coping competencies in terms of “letting go” at a specific age. At younger ages, these processes could (from the perspective of a child) be considered as dysfunctional in the sense of “giving up.” The findings emphasize the importance of the development of self-regulation (i. e., EF and children’s ability to delay gratification) in the context of flexible goal adjustment at preschool age.
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