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http://dx.doi.org/10.5723/kjcs.2016.37.6.19

The Effect of Attachment Security on Preschoolers' Perspective Taking: Executive Function as a Mediator  

Park, Ha-Yeon (Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Seoul National University)
Yi, Soon-Hyung (Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Seoul National University)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Child Studies / v.37, no.6, 2016 , pp. 19-33 More about this Journal
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to examine the prospective links among perspective taking, attachment security, and executive function and the mediating role of executive function on the relationship between attachment security and perspective taking. Methods: The participants included 147 preschoolers living in Gyeonggi. The data-analysis methods included descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVAs, Pearson's correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and the Sobel test. Results: First, preschoolers' perspective taking was significantly related to attachment security, and executive function. Furthermore, there was a significant association between attachment security and executive function. As expected, the correlations were positive in all cases. Second, the effects of attachment security on intention and emotion perspective takings were fully mediated by executive function when holding children's age and vocabulary constant. However, executive function did not predict thought perspective taking, whereas attachment security did. Conclusion: Given that parent-child attachment security might play an important role in child cognitive and socio-cognitive development, parents' endeavors to enhance the quality of the attachment relationship could be a fruitful path for preschoolers' developing executive capacities and perspective taking.
Keywords
perspective taking; intention perspective taking; emotion perspective taking; thought perspective taking; attachment security; executive function;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 2  (Citation Analysis)
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