Links Among Temperament, Play Styles, and Classroom Adjustment in Boys and Girls in Kindergarten and Grade 1

• In Event: Social and Academic Adjustment in Early Childhood

Abstract

In a sample of 137 children in kindergarten (52 boys; 31 girls) and grade 1 (33 boys; 21 girls) we examined gender, temperament, and play styles as predictors of school adjustment. Parents and teachers reported on children’s temperaments and play styles, respectively, in the fall. In the spring, teachers provided assessments of children’s school adjustment. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed gender, temperament, and play style each accounted for significant variance in school adjustment beyond the previous steps. Effortful control and Social Play were associated with school adjustment in boys and girls. Extraversion/surgency was negatively predictive of adjustment in girls but not boys.

Authors

• Lucy J. Le Mare, Simon Fraser University

• Hilla Hammerman, Simon Fraser University