Temporally Extended Self and Social Competences: concurrent and longitudinal associations in preschool children

The present longitudinal study investigated a topic of interest in developmental psychology: the role of social relationships and parental communication in predicting the development of Temporally Extended Self. In order to do so, a sample of 49 3-year-olds (23 girls and 26 boys; Time 1 Mage= 41 months, SD = 4.2 months; Time 2 Mage= 49 months, SD = 5.9 months) was tested twice at each time point. As main result we found a significant association between early social competencies and later Temporally Extended Self. These findings are agreed with developing-self theories that emphasize the underlined the importance of socio-affective aspects in the development of the Self.