title: Are trajectories of self-regulation abilities from ages 2-3 to 6-7 associated with academic achievement in the early school years?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to estimate the association between two key aspects of self-regulation, 'task attentiveness' and 'emotional regulation' assessed from ages 2-3 to 6-7 years, and academic achievement when children were aged 6-7 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 3410) were children in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Parents rated children's task attentiveness and emotional regulation abilities when children were aged 2-3, 4-5 and 6-7. Academic achievement was assessed using the Academic Rating Scale completed by teachers. Linear regression models were used to estimate the association between developmental trajectories (i.e. rate of change per year) of task attentiveness and emotional regulation, and academic achievement at 6-7 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Improvements in task attentiveness between 2-3 and 6-7 years, adjusted for baseline levels of task attentiveness, child and family confounders, and children's receptive vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning skills at age 6-7 were associated with greater teacher-rated literacy [B = 0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04-0.06] and maths achievement (B = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.03-0.06) at 6-7 years. Improvements in emotional regulation, adjusting for baseline levels and covariates, were also associated with better teacher-rated literacy (B = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01-0.04) but not with maths achievement (B = 0.01, 95% CI = -0.01-0.02) at 6-7 years. For literacy, improvements in task attentiveness had a stronger association with achievement at 6-7 years than improvements in emotional regulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study shows that improved trajectories of task attentiveness from ages 2-3 to 6-7 years are associated with improved literacy and maths achievement during the early school years. Trajectories of improving emotional regulation showed smaller effects on academic outcomes. Results suggest that interventions that improve task attentiveness when children are aged 2-3 to 6-7 years have the potential to improve literacy and maths achievement during the early school years.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: A C P
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: C R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3196-7137
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Chittleborough
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Mittinty
authors.affiliation: Research and Evaluation Unit, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia.|Discipline of Paediatrics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Miller-Lewis
authors.affiliation: Research and Evaluation Unit, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, SA, Australia.|Discipline of Paediatrics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.|School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001288:Attention; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012574:Schools; D000068356:Self-Control; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: academic achievement; early childhood; self-regulation