The impact of children’s attentional behaviour and parent–child interaction on children’s self regulation skills

This study aims to examine the predictive role of parent–child interaction on children's self-regulation skills during the preschool period. The study was conducted on a sample consisting of 219 children aged 5–6 and their mothers, selected using convenience sampling method. In the research, mothers' interactions with their children were evaluated using the Maternal Behavior Rating Scale, while children's interactions with their mothers were assessed using the Child Behavior Rating Scale, and children's self-regulation skills were evaluated based on performance using the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment. The findings indicate that interaction elements predicting children's self-regulation skills at a high and positive level include children's attention, as well as mothers' sensitive-responsive behaviors. The interaction element predicting self-regulation skills at a negative level is mothers' focus on achievement and directive behaviour. In contrast, neither the children's initiation of interaction nor the mothers' emotional and expressive behaviors were significant predictors of the children's self-regulation skills. The results were discussed in light of existing literature and suggestions for future research were provided.