Moment-to-Moment Within-Person Associations Between Maternal Autonomy Support and Child Defeat Predicting Child Behavioral Adjustment

This study examines mother–child mutual regulation processes during a challenging puzzle task as predictors of preschoolers’ behavioral adjustment 6 months later in a Chinese sample (N = 101, 46 boys, M_age = 57.41 months, SD = 6.58). Mother–child mutual regulation was measured by the moment-to-moment bidirectional within-person associations between maternal autonomy support and child defeat (i.e., expression of frustration, incapacity to complete the task, or giving up). Children whose mother provided more autonomy support after increases of child defeat showed lower levels of externalizing problems 6 months later, and children who showed less defeat after increases of maternal autonomy support showed higher levels of prosocial behaviors 6 months later. These predictive effects were significant after controlling for child behavioral adjustment at the initial time point, and mean levels of mother’s autonomy support and child’s defeat throughout the task. The mutual regulation processes did not significantly predict child internalizing problems. The findings suggest that the coordinated mother–child mutual regulation patterns in real time may have positive implications for preschoolers’ behavioral adjustment.