The Roles of Social Mastery Motivation and Parental Response in Kindergarten Children’s Vocabulary Knowledge and Behavioral Self-Regulation

Social mastery active interaction frequency (AIF) had direct negative (in boys) and indirect positive links (via vocabulary knowledge, in girls) with behavioral self-regulation, whereas positive affect frequency (PAF) contributed to boys’ behavioral self-regulation indirectly through expressive vocabulary. Parental response was positively associated with boys’ AIF, PAF, and behavioral self-regulation.