The Language-Aggression Hypothesis in Preschoolers

250 Pages·2015·2.19 MB·English

by  Robert Clark

University of Windsor
Scholarship at UWindsor
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
2011
The Language-Aggression Hypothesis in
Preschoolers: Maternal Scaffolding and Self-
Regulation
Robert Clark
University of Windsor
Follow this and additional works at:http://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd
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Clark, Robert, "The Language-Aggression Hypothesis in Preschoolers: Maternal Scaffolding and Self-Regulation" (2011).Electronic
Theses and Dissertations.Paper 495.
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THE LANGUAGE-AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS IN PRESCHOOLERS: MATERNAL
SCAFFOLDING AND SELF-REGULATION

by
Robert Clark

A Dissertation
Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies
through the Department of Psychology
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the
University of Windsor

Windsor, Ontario, Canada
2011
© 2011 Robert Clark
The Language-Aggression Hypothesis In Preschoolers: Maternal Scaffolding and Self-
Regulation

by

Robert Clark

APPROVED BY:

__________________________________________________
Dr. M. Beeghly, External Examiner
Wayne State University

_________________________________________________
Dr. K. Gorey
Department of Social Work

__________________________________________________
Dr. D. Jackson
Department of Psychology

________________________________________________
Dr. J. Hakim-Larson
Department of Psychology

__________________________________________________
Dr. R. Menna, Advisor
Department of Psychology

__________________________________________________
Dr. J. Ku, Chair of Defense
Faculty of Graduate Studies

May 19, 2011
iii
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this
thesis has been published or submitted for publication.
I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon
anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques,
quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis,
published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard
referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material
that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act,
I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include
such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my
appendix.
I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as
approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has
not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution.
iv
ABSTRACT
In light of recent findings suggesting that physical aggression peaks during the
toddler years then declines steadily beginning in preschool (e.g., Alink et al., 2006;
Tremblay et al., 2004), greater emphasis has been placed on identifying early factors that
might predispose children to disruptive behaviour problems as they mature. The present
study investigated the effects of early language development, executive functioning, and
maternal scaffolding on physically aggressive behaviour among a sample of preschool-
aged children (N = 126). In step one, regression analyses revealed various preschooler
language abilities negatively predicted physical aggression after controlling for potential
confounding variables (e.g., children’s IQ, family structure, socioeconomic status,
maternal education). The second set of analyses showed preschoolers’ executive
functions (i.e., inhibitory self-control, emergent metacognition) mediated the relation
between their language abilities and physical aggression. Maternal scaffolding was
introduced in the third step of analyses and was found to predict preschoolers’ semantic
language abilities. After separating the sample on the basis of scaffolding quality,
differences were found in terms of the specific executive functions that mediated the
language-aggression relation between groups. The results are interpreted from a
developmental perspective, with reference to the work of Vygotsky (1962, 1978). The
implications of these findings for early intervention of disruptive behaviour problems are
also discussed and recommendations are made for future research in the area of self-
regulation.
v
DEDICATION
For my wife Heather to whom I will always be grateful for reminding me that life
is far bigger than any one pursuit.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are a number of people without whom this project would not be possible.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the many families who volunteered their time, as
well as the community agencies and services that supported the study. Also worthy of
acknowledgement are the many research assistants who helped with the study and without
whom the study would not have run so efficiently. A special thanks goes to my research
colleagues, Holly Ambrose, Sara O’Neil, and Adam Kayfitz who lived and breathed the
project along with me, but more importantly, helped make if a very meaningful
experience. My genuine appreciation also goes to my committee members (Dr. Julie
Hakim-Larson, Dr. Dennis Jackson, Dr. Kevin Gorey, and Dr. Marjorie Beeghly) whose
insights and suggestions were invaluable. Finally, I liked to express my sincerest gratitude
to Dr. Rosanne Menna who first piqued my interest in child development as an
undergraduate student, and has patiently “scaffolded” my research endeavours ever since.
Her trusted guidance and expertise has helped make this process truly rewarding.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY iii
ABSTRACT iv
DEDICATION v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES viii
LIST OF FIGURES x
I. INTRODUCTION 1
General Context and Objectives of the Present Study 1
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 9
The Problem of Childhood Aggression 9
The Relation between Physical Aggression and Language
Development 14
Physical Aggression and Language Delay: The Self-Regulation
Pathway 29
Historical Views on the Development of Self-Regulation 32
Contemporary Views on the Development of Self-Regulation 38
Language, Self-Regulation, and Physical Aggression in Early
Childhood 47
Parental Socialization of Children’s Self-Regulation 63
Summary of the Problems and Objectives of the Present Study 86
III. METHODOLOGY 91
Participants 91
Recruitment and Procedure 95
Measures 99
IV. RESULTS 115
Planned Analyses 115
Data Screening and Preparation 116
Main Analyses: Examination of the Direct Effects Model 123
Main Analyses: Examination of the Mediation Model 128
Main Analyses: The Effects of Scaffolding on the Mediation Model 150
Summary 161
V. DISCUSSION 164
Step One: The Language-Aggression Hypothesis 164
Step Two: The Mediation Model 167
Step Three: The Self-Regulation Pathway as a Function of Maternal
Scaffolding 175
Clinical Implications 180
Limitations of the Present Study 183
Future Directions 186
REFERENCES 189
APPENDIX A 221
APPENDIX B 227
APPENDIX C 237
VITA AUCTORIS 239
viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Demographic Characteristics 93
Table 2. Inter-rater Agreement Statistics for Coding of Maternal Scaffolding 114
Table 3. Descriptive Statistics for Study Variables before Transformations 117
Table 4. Descriptive Statistics for Study Variables following Transformations 120
Table 5. Correlations between Study Variables and Demographic Variables 122
Table 6. Correlations between Study Variables before Transformations 124
Table 7. Correlations between Study Variables following Transformations 125
Table 8. Summary of the Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for the Prediction of
Physical Aggression - Transformed from Language Domains 127
Table 9. Summary of the Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for the Prediction of
Executive Functioning from Receptive Language – Transformed 131
Table 10. Summary of the Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for the Prediction of
Executive Functioning from Expressive Language 133
Table 11. Summary of the Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for the Prediction of
Executive Functioning from Semantic Language 134
Table 12. Summary of the Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for the Prediction of
Executive Functioning from Semantic Language 136
Table 13. Summary of the Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for the Prediction of
Physical Aggression – Transformed from Executive Functioning 139
Table 14. Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals for the Mediation Effect
of Inhibitory Self-Control – Transformed on the Relation between Receptive Language –
Transformed and Physical Aggression - Transformed 144
ix
Table 15. Bias Corrected and Accelerated Confidence Intervals for the Mediation Effect
of Inhibitory Self-Control on the Relation between Expressive Language and Physical
Aggression – Transformed 147
Table 16. Summary of the Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for the Prediction of
Preschoolers’ Language Abilities from Maternal Scaffolding 152
Table 17. Correlations between Study Variables for High Scaffolding Group 154
Table 18. Correlations between Study Variables for Low Scaffolding Group 158
Table 19. Summary of Standard Multiple Regression Analyses for Low Scaffolding
Mother-Child Pairs 159