It is not fully understood how effortful control is influenced by environmental factors. Effortful control is an important underpinning of self-regulation and plays influences developmental...Show moreIt is not fully understood how effortful control is influenced by environmental factors. Effortful control is an important underpinning of self-regulation and plays influences developmental outcomes such as conscious development and externalizing behavior. We investigated if internalized conduct mediated the relation between parental sensitivity and effortful control in children aged 5-8. To do so, questionnaires were used to measure internalized conduct and effortful control and a parent-child drawing task was used to measure sensitive parenting. In the questionnaire for effortful, questions about the levels of effortful control of the child were answered by the primary parent. In the questionnaire for internalized conduct, questions about the levels of internalized conduct of the child were answered by the other parent. The drawing task for parental sensitivity was done by the child and the primary parent. Significant effects were found in parental sensitivity as a predictor of both internalized conduct and effortful control. In addition a significant effect was found in internalized conduct as a predictor of effortful control. However, internalized conduct was not found to be a mediator in the relation between parental sensitivity and effortful control in this study.Show less
