Self-control, peer preference, and loneliness in Chinese children: A three-year longitudinal study

The purpose of this study was to explore the longitudinal links among Chinese children's self-control, social experiences, and loneliness, largely from a developmental cascades perspective (which postulates mechanisms about how effects within a particular domain of functioning can impact across additional domains over time). Participants were N=1,066 primary school students in Shanghai, P. R. China, who were followed over three years from Grade 3 to Grade 5. Measures of children's behavioral self-control, peer preference, and loneliness were obtained each year from peer nominations and child self-reports. Results indicated that as compared with the unidirectional and bidirectional models, the developmental cascade model represented the best fit for the data. Within this model, a number of significant direct and indirect pathways were identified among variables and over time. For example, self-control was found to indirectly contribute to later decreases in loneliness via a pathway through peer preference. As well, peer preference both directly and indirectly contributed to later increases in self-control. Finally, loneliness directly led to decreases in self-control from Grade 3 to Grade 4, but not from Grade 4 to Grade 5. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of self-control for Chinese children's social and emotional functioning over time.