Purpose

The current study aimed to examine the longitudinal associations between maternal responsiveness and preschoolers’ effortful control and aggression utilizing a cross-lagged analysis approach.

Design/methodology/approach

The current research used data from “Kids in Taiwan: National Longitudinal Study of Child Development & Care.” Survey data collected in the first to the third waves of the study from mothers of a 36-month-old cohort were analyzed. Preschoolers (N = 1,144, 49.4% girls) were three, four, and five years old during the three investigations, respectively. Controlling for the effects of child gender and family socioeconomic status, the present study examined the associations between maternal responsiveness and preschoolers’ effortful control and aggression across two years using structural equation modeling.

Findings/results

The results revealed positive bidirectional associations between maternal responsiveness and preschoolers’ effortful control, suggesting both parent and child effects between the two. However, while maternal responsiveness negatively predicted preschoolers’ aggression one-year later, the reverse was not true: The influence of maternal responsiveness on preschooler’s aggression was one-way. Moreover, a significant mediation was found: Preschoolers’ effortful control at the age of three was predictive of enhanced maternal responsiveness when preschoolers were four years old, which in turn predicted preschoolers’ lower levels of aggression at the age of five. Notably, whereas preschoolers’ effortful control at the age of four negatively predicted their aggressive tendency one year later, the indirect effect of maternal responsiveness when preschoolers were three years old on preschoolers’ aggression at the age of five via preschoolers’ effortful control at the age of four was only marginally significant.

Originality/value

Although prior studies conducted in Taiwan have investigated the associations between maternal responsiveness and preschoolers’ effortful control or aggression, most of them utilized concurrent data and thus prevented us from understanding the temporal associations between these constructs. To address the gap, the current research examined this issue by means of a nationally representative sample along with a longitudinal design. The findings demonstrated that maternal responsiveness associated with preschoolers’ better effortful control and lower aggressive tendency one year later. In addition, preschoolers’ effortful control served as an antecedent of maternal responsiveness. Although preschoolers’ aggression did not significantly predict maternal responsiveness a year later, whether the significance of this association will be contingent on children’s developmental stage deserves further clarification.

Suggestions/implications

Parenting education that teaches mothers how to express their care for their child(ren) could increase young children’s self-regulation and reduce their aggressive behavior. Training to increase mothers’ warm responsiveness or children’s effortful control could contribute to their reciprocal associations and promote children’s psychological adjustment.