Publication year
2011
Citation Title
Preschoolers' cognitive representations of peer relationships: Family origins and behavioural correlates.
Journal Name
Early Child Development and Care
Journal Volume
181
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
63-72
DOI
10.1080/03004430903255320
Summary
Preschoolers' cognitive representations of peer relations (e.g., peer affiliation and hostile attributions of peers' intentions) and their associations with prosocial peer-related behaviors and peer competence was assessed utilizing observations and child and teacher surveys. Results indicate that preschoolers' cognitive representations of peer relations (either positive or negative) were associated with their own behaviors and peer competence. Therefore, interventions that teach children to view peer interactions positively may be beneficial to children lacking social competence and prosocial behavioral skills.
Key Findings
Children who stated more often that they would prefer to play with a peer than alone or with an adult were more liked by peers, according to teacher reports; and, more likely to express assertive, sophisticated, and prosocial responses to others.
Children who had larger vocabularies and more peer affiliation engaged in more prosocial peer-related behaviors. In addition, children who tended to view the actions of their peers more often as hostile or mean were viewed by teachers as less socially competent.
Positive father-child play interactions were associated with children who were more likely to be socially competent with peers and have positive peer affiliation and response generation.
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide opportunities for positive social interactions among military children who may not be as socially competent as their peers to better equipped them socially
Disseminate information regarding service available to military families who have a child with social, emotional, or behavioral issues that influence peer interactions and competence
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support programs that offer opportunities for military children to learn positive social interaction skills that are essential to long-term well-being
Encourage collaboration among DoD programs and schools that work with military children to proactively address peer competency issues
Methods
Participant recruitment methods were not provided.
Preschool children were asked to engage in social situations (i.e., videotaped vignettes, puppets, and props) and then responded to interviews designed to elicit cognitive and verbal ability, perceptions of the intentions of subjects in the situations, what they would have done if it happened to them, and finally if they would play with the subject.
Children were also observed interacting with parents, and teachers reports were used to assess the child's social competence.
Participants
Participants included 55 preschool children.
Children ranged in age from 55 to 80 months (M = 65.9 months); 29 children were male and 26 children were female.
Fifty-six percent of children in the sample were White and 31% were Black.
Limitations
The relatively small sample size may limit the ability to generalize to a larger population of preschool children.
The variables were not carefully constructed or explained, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding the variables that were assessed.
Participants included only civilian youth; therefore, results may not be generalizable to military youth.
Avenues for Future Research
Assess the connections between the quality of the primary attachment relationship (e.g., parent-child) and children's representations of peer relationships and subsequent social-emotional outcomes
Examine gender difference in children's peer relations and conceptions
Explore why some children are more oriented toward peer affiliation while others are not
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Cognitive representations of peer relationships were conceptualised as the attributions children make about the intentions of others and children’s peer affiliation, or desire to interact with peers. Measures of these two constructs were developed and administered to 55 four‐ to six‐year‐olds. Findings indicate that measures of both measures of cognitive representations were associated with teacher‐rated peer competence, even when standardised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores were controlled. The association between peer affiliation and peer competence was mediated by strategy response generation, while the association between attributions and peer competence was direct. Father–child synchrony during a laboratory play session was associated with peer competence, and this association appeared to be at least partially mediated by response generation and peer affiliation scores.
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