Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2011 Feb;52(2):156-66. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02301.x. Epub 2010 Sep 1.
Low levels of dispositional anger and a good attention span are critical to healthy social emotional development, with attention control reflecting effective cognitive self-regulation of negative emotions such as anger. Using a longitudinal design, we examined attention span as a moderator of reciprocal links between changes in anger and changes in externalizing and internalizing problems from 4.5 to 11 years of age.
Participants were children from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), assessed four times between 4.5 and 11 years. Composite scores for anger and attention were computed using indicators from multiple informants. Externalizing and internalizing problems were reported by mothers.
Latent difference score analysis showed reciprocal lagged effects between increased anger and elevated levels of externalizing or internalizing problems. Significant moderating effects of attention indicated more persistent effects of anger on externalizing problems in the poor attention group. Although the poor and the good attention groups did not differ regarding the effects of anger on internalizing problems, significant moderating effects of attention indicated stronger and more persistent reciprocal effects of internalizing problems on anger in the poor attention group.
Attention control mechanisms are involved in self-regulation of anger and its connections with changes in behavioral and emotional problems. Strong attention regulation may serve to protect children with higher levels of dispositional anger from developing behavioral and emotional problems in middle childhood.
低水平的情绪和良好的注意力对健康的社会情感发展至关重要，注意力控制反映了对愤怒等负面情绪的有效认知自我调节。我们采用纵向设计，考察了注意力持续时间在 4.5 至 11 岁时愤怒变化与外化和内化问题变化之间的相互关系中的调节作用。
参与者来自儿童早期照料和青年发展研究（SECCYD），在 4.5 至 11 岁之间进行了四次评估。使用多个信息源的指标计算了愤怒和注意力的综合得分。母亲报告了外化和内化问题。
潜在差异分数分析表明，愤怒增加与外化或内化问题水平升高之间存在相互滞后效应。注意力的显著调节作用表明，在注意力较差的群体中，愤怒对外化问题的持续影响更大。虽然愤怒对内化问题的影响在注意力差和注意力好的群体之间没有差异，但注意力的显著调节作用表明，在注意力差的群体中，内化问题对愤怒的相互影响更强且更持久。
注意力控制机制参与了愤怒的自我调节及其与行为和情绪问题变化的联系。较强的注意力调节能力可能有助于保护具有较高情绪特质的儿童在中年期不发展行为和情绪问题。
