Self-regulation, and compliance behavior specifically, has been implicated in the development of successful socialization. Difficulty self-regulating has led to negative outcomes in areas such as academic success and mental health, and a number of possible contributors, such as temperament, maternal sensitivity and attachment, have been identified. In this study, we examined these possible predictors of preschool compliance behavior through causal modeling utilizing a large and diverse longitudinal dataset from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. We aimed to predict compliance and delay of gratification performance in children across 2, 3 and 4.5 years of age by looking at both lab and parent-report measurements. We found that compliance at 2 years of age was difficult to predict and path models including more than two time points did not fit well. Additionally, compliance lacked stability from 2 to 3 years of age. These findings suggest that stability of compliance and self-regulation behaviors may not occur until preschool or later. The findings also suggest that laboratory-based compliance may not be an optimal indicator of self-regulation but instead should be examined in conjunction with other measures in other contexts.
","abstract_html":"<p>Self-regulation, and compliance behavior specifically, has been implicated in the development of successful socialization. Difficulty self-regulating has led to negative outcomes in areas such as academic success and mental health, and a number of possible contributors, such as temperament, maternal sensitivity and attachment, have been identified. In this study, we examined these possible predictors of preschool compliance behavior through causal modeling utilizing a large and diverse longitudinal dataset from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. We aimed to predict compliance and delay of gratification performance in children across 2, 3 and 4.5 years of age by looking at both lab and parent-report measurements. We found that compliance at 2 years of age was difficult to predict and path models including more than two time points did not fit well. Additionally, compliance lacked stability from 2 to 3 years of age. These findings suggest that stability of compliance and self-regulation behaviors may not occur until preschool or later. The findings also suggest that laboratory-based compliance may not be an optimal indicator of self-regulation but instead should be examined in conjunction with other measures in other contexts.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gindin, Lauren"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Marie Coppola; Julie Wargo Aikins","James A. Green"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-07-13T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-07-13T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:31:45Z","subjects":["compliance","self-regulation","preschool","predictors","longitudinal"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/gs_theses/133","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Marie Coppola; Julie Wargo Aikins","James A. Green"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gindin, Lauren"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-07-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["compliance","self-regulation","preschool","predictors","longitudinal"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/gs_theses/133"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Self-regulation, and compliance behavior specifically, has been implicated in the development of successful socialization. Difficulty self-regulating has led to negative outcomes in areas such as academic success and mental health, and a number of possible contributors, such as temperament, maternal sensitivity and attachment, have been identified. In this study, we examined these possible predictors of preschool compliance behavior through causal modeling utilizing a large and diverse longitudinal dataset from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. We aimed to predict compliance and delay of gratification performance in children across 2, 3 and 4.5 years of age by looking at both lab and parent-report measurements. We found that compliance at 2 years of age was difficult to predict and path models including more than two time points did not fit well. Additionally, compliance lacked stability from 2 to 3 years of age. These findings suggest that stability of compliance and self-regulation behaviors may not occur until preschool or later. The findings also suggest that laboratory-based compliance may not be an optimal indicator of self-regulation but instead should be examined in conjunction with other measures in other contexts.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Antecedents and Continuity of Compliance in Preschoolers"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Marie Coppola; Julie Wargo Aikins","James A. Green"],"dc:creator":["Gindin, Lauren"],"dc:date.available":["2011-07-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Self-regulation, and compliance behavior specifically, has been implicated in the development of successful socialization. Difficulty self-regulating has led to negative outcomes in areas such as academic success and mental health, and a number of possible contributors, such as temperament, maternal sensitivity and attachment, have been identified. In this study, we examined these possible predictors of preschool compliance behavior through causal modeling utilizing a large and diverse longitudinal dataset from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. We aimed to predict compliance and delay of gratification performance in children across 2, 3 and 4.5 years of age by looking at both lab and parent-report measurements. We found that compliance at 2 years of age was difficult to predict and path models including more than two time points did not fit well. Additionally, compliance lacked stability from 2 to 3 years of age. These findings suggest that stability of compliance and self-regulation behaviors may not occur until preschool or later. The findings also suggest that laboratory-based compliance may not be an optimal indicator of self-regulation but instead should be examined in conjunction with other measures in other contexts.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/gs_theses/133"],"dc:subject":["compliance","self-regulation","preschool","predictors","longitudinal"],"dc:title":["Antecedents and Continuity of Compliance in Preschoolers"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:31:45Z"}