Biomedical subjects

Stephanie A Shepard

Publications and source records attributed to Stephanie A Shepard.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Relation of emotion-related regulation to children's social competence: a longitudinal study.

The differential relations of children's emotion-related regulation (i.e., effortful control and impulsivity) to their personality resiliency, adult-rated popularity, and social competence were examined in children who were 4.5-7.9 years old and who were remeasured 2 years later. Parents and teachers reported on all constructs, and children's attentional persistence was observed. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediating role of resiliency on the relations between regulation/control and popularity using two-wave longitudinal data. The results provide some evidence of the mediating role of resiliency in the relations between effortful control and popularity, provide some evidence of bidirectional effects, and also buttress the view that emotional regulation should be differentiated into effortful and reactive forms of control.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

The relations of problem behavior status to children's negative emotionality, effortful control, and impulsivity: concurrent relations and prediction of change.

The relations of children's internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors to their concurrent regulation, impulsivity (reactive undercontrol), anger, sadness, and fearfulness and these aspects of functioning 2 years prior were examined. Parents and teachers completed measures of children's (N = 185; ages 6 through 9 years) adjustment, negative emotionality, regulation, and behavior control; behavioral measures of regulation also were obtained. In general, both internalizing and externalizing problems were associated with negative emotionality. Externalizers were low in effortful regulation and high in impulsivity, whereas internalizers, compared with nondisordered children, were low in impulsivity but not effortful control. Moreover, indices of negative emotionality, regulation, and impulsivity with the level of the same variables 2 years before controlled predicted stability versus change in problem behavior status.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

The relative contribution of sibling deviance and peer deviance in the prediction of substance use across middle childhood.

This study investigated the quality of sibling relationships and sibling deviancy in a sample of children at-risk for substance use and antisocial behavior. Based on a history of empirical and theoretical models suggesting strong associations between children's development in the context of relationships and the emergence of delinquency and drug use, this research extends previous efforts by including sibling relationships in this developmental model, linking siblings with later substance use. Sibling relationship quality as well as peer deviance were examined using a multirater, multimethod assessment procedure. We tested 3 constructs (deviancy, warmth, and conflict) related to sibling behavior. Only sibling deviance and peer deviance directly predicted substance use. When both sibling deviance and peer deviance were examined as predictors of changes in substance use over time, only sibling deviance was significant. Implications for the development of substance use behavior in middle childhood are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Prediction of children's empathy-related responding from their effortful control and parents' expressivity.

In this study, the linear and interactive relations of children's effortful control and parents' emotional expressivity to children's empathy-related responses were examined. Participants were 214 children, 4.5 to 8 years old. Children's effortful control was negatively related to their personal distress and was positively related to their sympathy. Parents' positive expressivity was marginally negatively related to children's personal distress and was marginally positively related to children's dispositional sympathy. Parents' negative expressivity was positively related to children's personal distress, but primarily at high levels of children's effortful control. Moreover, parents' negative expressivity was negatively related to children's situational sympathy at low levels of effortful control but was positively related to children's dispositional sympathy at high levels of effortful control. There were also quadratic relations between the measures of parents' expressivity and children's empathy-related responses.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Longitudinal relations among parental emotional expressivity, children's regulation, and quality of socioemotional functioning.

The role of regulation as a mediator of the relations between maternal emotional expressivity and children's adjustment and social competence was examined when children (N = 208) were 4.5 to just 8 years old (Time 1, T1) and 2 years later (Time 2, T2). At T2, as at T1, regulation mediated the relation between positive maternal emotional expressivity and children's functioning. When T1 relations and the stability of variables over time were controlled for in a structural equation model, T2 relations generally were nonsignificant, although parents' dominant negative expressivity predicted high regulation. In contrast, in regressions, the findings for parent positive expressivity, but not negative expressivity, held at T2 when T1 variables were controlled. Thus, relations for negative expressivity, but not positive expressivity, changed with age.

Affect↗

PubMed2003

The relations of effortful control and ego control to children's resiliency and social functioning.

The relations of effortful control and ego control to children's (mean age = 137 months) resiliency, social status, and social competence were examined concurrently (Time 3) and over time. Adults reported on the constructs, and a behavioral measure of persistence was obtained. At Time 3, resiliency mediated the unique relations of both effortful and reactive control to social status, and effortful control directly predicted socially appropriate behavior. Negative emotionality moderated the relations of ego and effortful control to socially appropriate behavior. When levels of the variables 2 years prior were accounted for, all relations held at Time 3 except that effortful control did not predict resiliency (even though it was the stronger predictor at Time 3) and ego control directly predicted socially appropriate behavior.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Prosocial development in early adulthood: a longitudinal study.

Consistency of measures of a prosocial personality and prosocial moral judgment over time, and the interrelations among them, were examined. Participants and friends' reports of prosocial characteristics were obtained at ages 21-22, 23-24, and 25-26 years. In addition, participants' prosocial judgment was assessed with interviews and with an objective measure of prosocial moral reasoning at several ages. Reports of prosocial behavior and empathy-related responding in childhood and observations of prosocial behavior in preschool also were obtained. There was interindividual consistency in prosocial dispositions, and prosocial dispositions in adulthood related to empathy/sympathy and prosocial behavior at much younger ages. Interview and objective measures of moral reasoning were substantially interrelated in late adolescence/early adulthood and correlated with participants' and friends' reports of a prosocial disposition.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The relations of parental warmth and positive expressiveness to children's empathy-related responding and social functioning: a longitudinal study.

This study examined the concurrent and cross-time relations of parental observed warmth and positive expressivity to children's situational facial and self-reported empathic responding, social competence, and externalizing problems in a sample of 180 elementary school children. Data was collected when the children were in second to fifth grades (age: M = 112.8 months), and again 2 years later. Cross-sectional and longitudinal structural equation models supported the hypothesis that parents' (mostly mothers') positive expressivity mediated the relation between parental warmth and children's empathy, and children's empathy mediated the relation between parental positive expressivity and children's social functioning. These relations persisted after controlling for prior levels of parenting and child characteristics. Moreover, concurrent and cross-time consistencies were found on measures of parenting, children's situational empathic responding, and social functioning.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The relations of parenting, effortful control, and ego control to children's emotional expressivity.

The relations of observed parental warmth and positive expressivity and children's effortful control and ego control with children's high versus low emotional expressivity were examined in a 2-wave study of 180 children (M age = 112.8 months). There were quadratic relations between adults' reports of children's emotional expressivity and effortful control; moderate expressivity was associated with high effortful control. Structural equation models supported the hypothesis that children's ego overcontrol (versus undercontrol) mediated the relation between parental warmth or positive expressivity and children's emotional expressivity, although parenting at the follow-up did not uniquely predict in children's expressivity after controlling for the relations in these constructs over time. The alternative hypothesis that children's ego overcontrol elicited positive parenting and expressivity also was supported.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The relations of effortful control and impulsivity to children's resiliency and adjustment.

The unique relations of effortful control and impulsivity to resiliency and adjustment were examined when children were 4.5 to 8 years old, and 2 years later. Parents and teachers reported on all constructs and children's attentional persistence was observed. In concurrent structural equation models, effortful control and impulsivity uniquely and directly predicted resiliency and externalizing problems and indirectly predicted internalizing problems (through resiliency). Teacher-reported anger moderated the relations of effortful control and impulsivity to externalizing problems. In the longitudinal model, all relations held at T2 except for the path from impulsivity to externalizing problems. Evidence of bidirectional effects also was obtained. The results indicate that effortful control and impulsivity are distinct constructs with some unique prediction of resiliency and adjustment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗