Examining the Role of Positive Engagement With Peers in Social-Emotional Adjustment: Does Teacher-Child Interaction Quality Moderate This Relationship?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Young Children’s Classroom Peer Interactions

Abstract

Preschool children exhibiting social-emotional maladjustment, especially those from low-income backgrounds, are at elevated risk for negative developmental trajectories. Targeting domain-general skills, such as classroom engagement with peers, has been effective in increasing readiness across multiple domains, including social-emotional adjustment. Additionally, high teacher-child interaction quality has been found to support more positive outcomes for at-risk children. In a diverse Head Start sample, we examined the interaction between child-level (engagement with peers) and classroom-level (teacher-child interaction quality) influences on social-emotional adjustment (problem behavior). Results confirm the negative association between positive engagement with peers and problem behavior. This relationship was most salient for children in classrooms with high teacher-child interaction quality, highlighting its critical and interactive role across several preschool classroom contexts.

Authors

• Veronica A. Fernandez, University of Miami

• Tracy M Carter, University of Miami

• Rebecca Jane Shearer, University of Miami