Parenting is a well-established predictor of children’s self-regulation, a critical skill which is associated with myriad adult outcomes and develops markedly across the preschool age. The literature highlights three major mechanisms through which parents may support preschoolers’ self-regulation development: establishing routines and supporting transitions,providing opportunities for autonomy, and modeling regulated emotions and behavior. The current work seeks to present and validate a new parent survey designed to capture these mechanisms. Across fall datasets (2019-2021) with a fairly diverse sample, parents reported high frequencies of support, with low reports of using a job chart/visual schedule and providing items for children to track time. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted on data from 2019 (N = 271), followed by a Confirmatory Factor Analysis on combined data from 2020 and 2021 (N = 473), and a final EFA on that same dataset. Linear regressions were conducted to assess relations between the latent construct and child-level variables (executive function skills and behavioral self-regulation), as well as parent-level variables (maternal education, parent stress, and parent self-regulation). A mediation was then conducted to examine child self-regulation as a mediator between parent support and child academic outcomes (math and literacy). Factor analyses revealed a single factor structure with four items pruned; models were similar across iterations and between EFAs. No relations were identified between the latent construct and child-level or parent-level variables, except for parent self-regulation which showed a positive relation. No mediation effects were identified. Reasons for these unexpected findings are discussed, such as social desirability bias and unmeasured variables. These strategies appear to represent a single cohesive aspect of parenting which may not be a driving force in children’s self-regulation. Future work would benefit from including an observational measure for comparison with parent report.
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