Inhibitory control and teacher-child conflict: Reciprocal associations across the elementary-school years

In the present study, longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used to test a theoretical model in which one aspect of children's self-regulation skills - their inhibitory-control abilities - were hypothesized to show reciprocal relations with their levels of teach of teacher-child across the elementary-school years. The findings were largely consistent with the hypothesized model. Across multiple points in elementary school, lower levels of inhibitory control were associated with higher subsequent levels of teacher-child conflict. In turn, higher levels of teacher-child conflict were associated with lower subsequent levels of inhibitory control. Some evidence suggested that the magnitude of this latter relation was particularly strong for girls in the later elementary-school years. Direct relations between inhibitory control and teacher-child conflict were partially mediated by children's inattention and aggression problems. Potential implications for theory and practice are discussed.