Development and Psychopathology

Table of Contents - 2007 - Volume 19, Issue 02  


Relations of effortful control, reactive undercontrol, and anger to Chinese children's adjustment

NANCY  EISENBERG  a1 c1 , YUE  MA  a1 , LEI  CHANG  a2 , QING  ZHOU  a1 , STEPHEN G.  WEST  a1 and LEONA  AIKEN  a1
a1 Arizona State University
a2 Chinese University of Hong Kong

Article author query
eisenberg n   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
ma y   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
chang l   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
zhou q   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
west sg   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
aiken l   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the zero-order and unique relations of effortful attentional and behavioral regulation, reactive impulsivity, and anger/frustration to Chinese first and second graders' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, as well as the prediction of adjustment from the interaction of anger/frustration and effortful control or impulsivity. A parent and teacher reported on children's anger/frustration, effortful control, and impulsivity. Parents reported on children's internalizing symptoms, and teachers and peers reported on children's externalizing symptoms. Children were classified as relatively high on externalizing (or comorbid), internalizing, or nondisordered. High impulsivity and teacher-reported anger/frustration, and low effortful control, were associated with externalizing problems, whereas low effortful control and high parent-reported anger were predictive of internalizing problems. Unique prediction from effortful and reactive control was obtained and these predictors (especially when reported by teachers) often interacted with anger/frustration when predicting problem behavior classification. a


Correspondence:
c1 Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Nancy Eisenberg, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1104; E-mail: nancy.eisenberg@asu.edu

Footnotes

a This research was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health (2 R01 MH60838) to Nancy Eisenberg and an Earmarked Research Grant (CUHK4620/05H) of the Research Grants Council, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, to Lei Chang.