title: Verbal self-regulation over time in preschool children at risk for attention and behavior problems.
abstract: This study is a prospective, longitudinal attempt to explore behavioral self-regulation, private speech, and speech-action coordination in a sample of behaviorally at-risk preschool children. Preschoolers (N = 72) were classified at age 3 years into a behaviorally at-risk group or a comparison group on the basis of preschool teacher behavioral ratings. Children were videotaped on four different occasions across the span of almost 2 years as they completed problem-solving tasks, and private speech, task performance, executive functioning, and speech-action coordination were analyzed. Children identified 2 years earlier as being hard to manage were at risk for continued behavior problems at elementary school entry. Behaviorally at-risk children consistently used more spontaneous private speech than comparison children across all observations. Both groups of children demonstrated a pattern of increasing silence with task success over time. No group differences were observed in children's speech-action coordination at age 5 years. Intraindividual developmental changes in private speech for both groups were associated with task performance, speech-action coordination, and executive functioning at age 5, but not with teacher- and parent-reported problem behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, USA. awinsler@gmu.edu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Winsler
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Atencio
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Chabay
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011340:Problem Solving; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013060:Speech; D014145:Trail Making Test