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Self-Regulation in Childhood: A Developmental Perspective

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Abstract

Self-regulation is an essential concept in the study of human development. However, the definitions of the term “self-regulation” and its components are not as clear as may be expected. In addition, these definitions are likely to change across childhood as a function of age and development. Consequently, it is an important aim of this chapter to review the concept of self-regulation from a developmental perspective in order to further our understanding of the similarities and differences between self-regulatory capacities as a function of age and developmental milestones. The chapter is divided into four main sections. In the first section, we look at the different definitions of self-regulation as they appear in the literature and suggest an informative definition of that construct. The second discusses the development of self-regulation from infancy to middle childhood. The third section presents different methods of assessing self-regulation (again, as a function of age and development), and the fourth discusses the links between self-regulation and psychopathology and their implications to field practitioners, focusing mainly on clinical and educational implications. We summarize the chapter with a set of conclusions and recommendations for future research in the field.

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Ziv, Y., Benita, M., Sofri, I. (2017). Self-Regulation in Childhood: A Developmental Perspective. In: Matson, J. (eds) Handbook of Social Behavior and Skills in Children . Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64592-6_10

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