A Micro-Level Examination of Infant Regulation Predicts Behavior Regulation in Early Childhood

The parent-child relationship, foundational to a child’s self-regulation, functions best when parents are sensitive and provide affection.Through these important relational aspects, infants and young children become able to regulate arousal.The current study examined both emotion and behavior regulation within the context of the parent-child relationship.Emotion regulation was examined on a micro-level during infancy and behavior regulation was measured when children were four-years old.It was hypothesized, but not supported, that infants who received more touch during the baseline segment would recover faster during the reunion segment of the still-face paradigm.Results showed that micro-level emotion regulation during the reunion segment was predictive of behavior regulation at age four. The current study shows how the still-face paradigm can be useful in capturing a micro-level snapshot of the child’s developing regulatory functions and the relation to behavior regulation years later.