This study used data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to
investigate how parent report of children’s emotional and cognitive regulation at age 2-3 years was associated with
teacher ratings of children’s prosocial behaviors in the early years of school. A sample of 2,392 children was drawn
from the LSAC Birth Cohort for the analyses. The analyses used structural equation modeling to estimate parameters
of the relationships between key variables. Within the model, estimates of mother-reported emotional and cognitive
regulation at age 2 to 3 years were significantly associated with teacher-reported prosocial behavior at 6 to 7 years.
Emotional regulation was a slightly stronger indicator of prosocial behavior than cognitive regulation. Being female
and from a family with a higher socioeconomic position were also associated with higher levels of prosocial behavior.
Results are discussed in relation to the role of early childhood teachers in fostering children’s self-regulatory
behaviors and in providing environments in which empathic and prosocial behaviors are modeled, guided, and
scaffolded so that foundations are laid for caring behaviors to be understood and internalized by children.