Observing preschoolers' social-emotional behavior: structure, foundations, and prediction of early school success.
Social-emotional behavior of 352 3- and 4-year-olds attending private child-care and Head Start programs was observed using the Minnesota Preschool Affect Checklist, Revised (MPAC-R). Goals of the investigation included (a) using MPAC-R data to extract a shortened version, MPAC-R/S, comparing structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and stability of both versions; and, using the shortened measure, to examine (b) age, gender, and risk status differences in social-emotional behaviors; (c) contributions of emotion knowledge and executive function to social-emotional behaviors; and (d) contributions of social-emotional behaviors to early school adjustment and kindergarten academic success. Results show that reliability of MPAC-R/S was as good, or better, than the MPAC-R. MPAC-R/S structure, at both times of observation, included emotionally negative/aggressive, emotionally regulated/prosocial, and emotionally positive/productive behaviors; MPAC-R structure was similar but less replicable over time. Age, gender, and risk differences were found. Children's emotion knowledge contributed to later emotionally regulated/prosocial behavior. Finally, preschool emotionally negative/aggressive behaviors were associated with concurrent and kindergarten school success, and there was evidence of social-emotional behavior mediating relations between emotion knowledge or executive function, and school outcomes. The importance of portable, empirically supported observation measures of social-emotional behaviors is discussed along with possible applications, teacher utilization, and implementation barriers.
George Mason University, Department of Psychology, MS3F5, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA. sdenham@gmu.edu
Susanne A
SA
Denham
Hideko Hamada
HH
Bassett
Sara K
SK
Thayer
Melissa S
MS
Mincic
Yana S
YS
Sirotkin
Katherine
K
Zinsser
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011581:Psychological Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D012951:Socialization; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014768:Virginia