Identifying children at risk
Temperament and self-regulation as early markers of psychopathology
Publication date
2025-08-01
Document type
Dissertation
Cumulative Thesis
✅
Author
Advisor
Referee
Schmiedek, Florian
Granting institution
Helmut-Schmidt-Universität/Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg
Exam date
2025
Organisational unit
Publisher
Universitätsbibliothek der HSU/UniBw H
Part of the university bibliography
✅
File(s)
Language
English
DDC Class
150 Psychologie
Keyword
Temperament
Self-regulation
Effortful control
Executive function
ADHD
Developmental psychopathology
Abstract
This cumulative dissertation investigates how temperament and self-regulation contribute to the emergence of psychopathological symptoms in early childhood. Drawing on three empirical studies, it integrates psychometric, cross-sectional, and longitudinal perspectives.
The first study examines the structural relationship between effortful control and executive function, revealing that although the constructs are highly interrelated, they form empirically distinct factors. The second study analyses how reactive temperament traits (surgency, negative affectivity) and self-regulation (parent-rated and performance-based executive functions) predict ADHD, conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and peer problems in preschool-aged children. The findings highlight strong and consistent associations between surgency and ADHD, while the predictive value of negative affectivity diminishes when self-regulation is simultaneously considered. Parent-rated executive functioning deficits emerged as the strongest predictors across domains, whereas performance-based executive functioning was not significantly associated with symptoms. No significant moderation effects were found, supporting an additive rather than an interactive model. The third study uses a latent change score model to analyze intraindividual changes in reactive temperament between ages three and five. The results demonstrate that change in surgency and negative affectivity, but not trait levels, predict subsequent conduct and ADHD symptoms, emphasizing the developmental dynamics of temperament-related risk.
Together, the findings show that temperament and self-regulation are developmentally interrelated but distinct processes, and that changes in reactivity, more than static traits, represent a critical pathway to early externalizing psychopathology. The dissertation supports an integrative developmental model and provides implications for the early identification and targeted support of children at risk.
The first study examines the structural relationship between effortful control and executive function, revealing that although the constructs are highly interrelated, they form empirically distinct factors. The second study analyses how reactive temperament traits (surgency, negative affectivity) and self-regulation (parent-rated and performance-based executive functions) predict ADHD, conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and peer problems in preschool-aged children. The findings highlight strong and consistent associations between surgency and ADHD, while the predictive value of negative affectivity diminishes when self-regulation is simultaneously considered. Parent-rated executive functioning deficits emerged as the strongest predictors across domains, whereas performance-based executive functioning was not significantly associated with symptoms. No significant moderation effects were found, supporting an additive rather than an interactive model. The third study uses a latent change score model to analyze intraindividual changes in reactive temperament between ages three and five. The results demonstrate that change in surgency and negative affectivity, but not trait levels, predict subsequent conduct and ADHD symptoms, emphasizing the developmental dynamics of temperament-related risk.
Together, the findings show that temperament and self-regulation are developmentally interrelated but distinct processes, and that changes in reactivity, more than static traits, represent a critical pathway to early externalizing psychopathology. The dissertation supports an integrative developmental model and provides implications for the early identification and targeted support of children at risk.
Description
Der dritte Teilartikel dieser Dissertation befindet sich aktuell im Review-Prozess und ist noch nicht veröffentlicht.
Version
Published version
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