Family Involvement and Preschoolers' Social Skills: The Mediating Role of the Teacher-Child Relationship

• In Event: The Role of Family in Child Development: Preschool Through Adolescence

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify a potential mechanism underlying how or why family involvement may promote preschoolers’ social skills. Specifically, does the quality of the teacher-child relationship mediate the association between family involvement and social competence in preschool children? Closeness, but not conflict, within the teacher-child relationship positively mediated the relationship between family involvement (i.e., frequency of contact and the quality of the parent-teacher relationship) and children’s social skills. Understanding more about this dynamic pathway may elucidate viable intervention approaches to prevent the development of unfavorable child outcomes resulting from low family involvement in early education.

Authors

• Julie Ann Planke, The Ohio State University
  Presenting Author

• Laura M. Justice, The Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kelly Purtell, The Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Hui Jiang, Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nan Xiao, The Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author