Family context of low-income young children and their self-regulation in the United States and Turkey

ABSTRACT

The current study examines the contributions of family context (e.g. life events, home environments) to low-income preschool children’s self-regulation (behaviour regulation and executive function) in the United States and Turkey. Participants were 1139 low-income children (486 from the U.S. and 653 from Turkey) and their parents. Children’s self-regulation was assessed via structured tasks and family related variables such as life events, home environments, and demographic information were assessed via parent-report. Results from regression analyses showed that child’s age-predicted behaviour regulation and executive function in children both from the U.S. and Turkey. Child gender, favouring girls predicted behaviour regulation and executive function and parent–child verbal interaction was associated with behaviour regulation only in the U.S. Family structure (favouring living in a two-parent household) predicted executive function and economic change predicted behaviour regulation in Turkey. Contributions and future directions were also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-regulation
• American children
• Turkish children
• family context
• early childhood

Acknowledgments

The findings reported here are based on research conducted as part of the Hacettepe University-University of Nebraska Self-Regulation Study. Principal investigators are Mubeccel Gonen, Ph.D., and Mefharet Veziroglu-Celik, Ph.D., representing Hacettepe University and Helen Raikes, Ph.D., and Ibrahim H. Acar, Ph.D., University of Nebraska. Public kindergartens and elementary schools in Ankara, Turkey, Educare of Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, USA, and contributions of Lisa St. Clair and Megan Sheppard, Munroe Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, are acknowledged. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The Turkey part of this work was supported by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Unit in Ankara, under research Grant Number SDS-2015-5455. The research was conducted by the allowance of the Altındağ District National Education Directorate. In addition, the publication process of the Turkey part of this work was supported by the Center for Early Childhood Policies at Hacettepe University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mefharet Veziroglu-Celik

Mefharet Veziroglu-Celik is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education in Istanbul Medipol University.

Aileen Garcia

Aileen S. Garcia is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development in South Dakota State University.

Ibrahim H. Acar

Ibrahim H. Acar is an assistant professor in Ozyegin University.

Mubeccel Gonen

Mubeccel Gonen is a professor in Hacettepe University.

Helen Raikes

Helen Raikes is a professor in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Aysel Korkmaz

Aysel Korkmaz is a research assistant in Hacettepe University.

Sukran Ucus

Sukran Ucus is an assistant professor in Ahi Evran University.

Jan Esteraich

Jan Esteraich is a research assistant in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Amy Colgrove

Amy Colgrove is a research in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.