RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY!
Young Children’s Self-Regulation Study
A Project of Seattle Pacific University
Researchers at Seattle Pacific University are looking for children ages 3-6 years with Autism Spectrum Disorders and boys with typical development for participation in a study of self-regulation skills. Self-regulation skills, such as the regulation of attention, behavior and emotion, are important for success in educational and social situations.
Children complete various activities over two, possibly three sessions. We ask children to follow 3-step verbal directions and do activities for 20-30 minute intervals (with breaks). We will also ask you and your child’s teacher or caregiver to report on your child’s skills and behaviors. Parents receive $50 and a $5 coffee card for helping with the study. Children receive a small gift. Teachers receive $25 for completing study surveys.
If you would like to learn more information about the research study, please contact the people listed below. One of the researchers associated with our study will provide more information about the project and answer your questions.
Study investigators:
Beverly J. Wilson, Ph.D.
Seattle Pacific University
3307 Third Ave. West, Suite 109
Seattle, WA 98119-1922
Christen Managan, M.A.
(206) 669-4342
cmanang@spu.edu
Seattle Pacific University
Erin Haven, M.A.
(626) 533-6245
ehaven@spu.edu
Seattle Pacific University
Julie Schoenfield-McNeill, M.A.
Seattle Pacific University
mcneij1@spu.edu
(206) 619-9690
______________________________________________________________
About the Young Children's Self Regulation Project
The Study
The Young Children’s Self-Regulation Study is investigating the self-regulation skills of 3 to 6-year old children with autism spectrum disorders and how these skills are related to their adaptive functioning and social-emotional competence.
Self-regulation includes the regulation of behavior, cognition, attention, and emotion. In contrast to previous research which has primarily investigated the regulation of cognition and behavior, the focus of the current study is on children’s ability to regulate their behavior during emotion-eliciting events.
Method
We use a multi-method approach for assessing children’s skills. For example, we document individual differences in children’s ability to regulate physiological arousal as well as behavioral signs of children’s emotion regulation skills such as facial expressions, gestures, attention patterns, and verbal comments during a set of emotion-eliciting tasks.
Relevance
Children’s performance on these tasks has practical importance to their social and educational competence. Children frequently encounter similar tasks in home and school settings, such as waiting to receive a desired object or resisting the temptation to act in an inappropriate way. Consequently, one aspect of our multi-method approach involves asking parents and teachers to report about children’s emotion regulation and executive control in these settings.
The Goal
A better understanding the skills and characteristics that facilitate children’s performance on these tasks may lead to better intervention services for children with ASD. These interventions may help improve children’s classroom behavior and real-world social problem-solving skills where control over emotion, attention, and behavior are most important. Several dissertation students are gather data as part of this larger study.
