The PACT Study was originally designed to pilot neuropsychological and behavioral measures of local preschoolers' self-regulation. The research, conducted from July 2016 to January 2019, involved a community sample of children between 32 and 47 months of age. Our subsequent findings linking preschool-age children’s self-regulation to their mobile screen media use (for example, smartphones and tablets) and television exposure have been published in JAMA Pediatrics and Psychology of Popular Media. We also published papers in the Journal of Family Psychology investigating cognitive and biological factors in parents that influence their disciplinary choices and in Child Psychiatry and Human Development examining the role of young children's self-regulation in their early emotional and behavioral problems. Recently, doctoral student Aubrey B. Golden published her master's thesis in Developmental Psychobiology showing that the relationships between parenting stress and preschoolers' physiological regulation is dependent on the context in which their physiology is assessed and by the method of measuring self-regulation. We hope this work can help assist parents in making informed decisions about effective and nurturing ways to guide their preschool-age child's behavior and learning.
