Private (i.e., self-directed) speech (PS) is thought to support the development of self-regulation but few studies have been longitudinal or focused on the preschool period, when self-regulation skills are rapidly coming online. In this study (N = 160), we observed children's PS during a challenging puzzle task at age 3 and assessed whether the amount and maturity of their PS predicted their inhibitory control (IC) at age 4 and indirectly emotion regulation at age 9. Additionally, we examined whether the direct and indirect effects of PS were moderated by children's temperament. As expected, the maturity of children's PS was positively associated with IC and this association was stronger when children were reported as higher in anger reactivity by mothers (the interaction accounting for 11% of the explained variance). Children low in temperamental anger tend to have good IC and may not need to use PS. When children were at or above the mean on anger reactivity, PS maturity was indirectly associated with better emotion regulation at age 9 through an influence on IC at age 4 (index of moderated mediation =1.03 [.10, 3.60]). Findings suggest that PS is an important self-regulatory tool for 3-year-olds who typically experience and express anger.

私人（即自主）演讲（PS）被认为支持自我调节的发展，但很少有研究纵向或专注于学龄前阶段，此时自我调节技能迅速上线。本研究中（N = 160），我们在 3 岁时在一项具有挑战性的拼图任务中观察了儿童的 PS，并评估了他们的 PS 的数量和成熟度是否可以预测他们在 4 岁时的抑制控制 (IC) 和在 9 岁时间接的情绪调节。此外，我们检查了是否PS的直接和间接影响受儿童气质的调节。正如预期的那样，儿童 PS 的成熟度与 IC 呈正相关，当母亲报告儿童的愤怒反应性较高时，这种相关性更强（交互作用占解释方差的 11%）。脾气暴躁的孩子往往有良好的IC，可能不需要使用PS。当孩子的愤怒反应达到或高于平均值时，PS 成熟度通过影响 4 岁时的 IC 与 9 岁时更好的情绪调节间接相关（中度调解指数 =1.03 [.10, 3.60]）。研究结果表明，对于通常会经历和表达愤怒的 3 岁儿童来说，PS 是一种重要的自我调节工具。