Preschool behavior and first-grade achievement : the mediational role of cognitive self-control

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test a model of school achievement that included children's intellectual abilities, preschool behavior, and cognitive self-control. It suggested that teacher-rated preschool behavior such as aggressive, anxious-withdrawn, and prosocial behaviors influence cognitive self-control, which in turn positively determines school achievement at the end of first grade (when controlling for intellectual abilities). Participants were 291 kindergarten children. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that all hypothesized path models were significant, except the one between anxious-withdrawn behavior and cognitive self-control. A second model was thus specified in which a path between anxious-withdrawn behavior and school achievement was estimated. The second model offered a better representation of the sample data (comparative fit index = .99, nonnormed fit index = .98), χ²(19, N = 286) = 29.43, p > .05, and the path between anxious-withdrawn behavior and school achievement was found significant. The role of preschool behavior and cognitive self-control in first-grade school achievement is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)