Poster #9 - Preschool ADHD Behaviors and School Readiness: Emotion Regulation and Peer Functioning as Potential Buffers

• In Event: Poster Session 04

Abstract

School readiness encompasses a broad set of preschoolers’ behavioral, cognitive, social-emotional, motor, and learning abilities, and is positively associated with future academic functioning (Ricciardi et al., 2021). Importantly, preschool Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) behaviors are associated with poorer school readiness (Perrin et al., 2019), and predict academic underperformance throughout the school years (Spira & Fischel, 2005). Thus, identifying factors that support school readiness among preschoolers exhibiting ADHD behaviors is critical for informing early interventions and mitigating potential future academic impairments. Emotion regulation and peer functioning are negatively associated with preschool ADHD behaviors (e.g., Lahey et al., 1998; Lugo-Candelas et al., 2017) and positively associated with multiple aspects of school readiness (Fantuzzo & McWayne, 2002; Harrington et al., 2020). Thus, although emotion regulation and peer functioning are components of overall social-emotional school readiness, they may be important individual factors to investigate in relation to ADHD behaviors and other key school readiness domains. Accordingly, the current study examined whether indicators of emotion regulation and peer functioning moderate associations between preschoolers’ ADHD behaviors and cognitive, language, mathematics, and literacy school readiness.

A sample of predominantly Head Start (59.4%) preschoolers (N = 187; 44.9% female; Mage = 3.58) was drawn from a larger program evaluation study. Teacher-reported mean total ADHD behaviors were assessed using the ADHD Rating Scale IV – Preschool Version (McGoey et al., 2007). Two items from the social-emotional subscale on the Teaching Strategies GOLD© (TSG; Teaching Strategies LLC, 2016) school readiness assessment were used as indicators of emotion regulation (i.e., “manages feelings”) and peer functioning (i.e., “makes friends”). School readiness was operationalized as the percentage of items children met or exceeded expectations on TSG language, cognitive, literacy, and mathematics school readiness subscales.

Hierarchical regressions revealed that for models including emotion regulation as the focal moderator, both ADHD behaviors and emotion regulation were unique predictors of all school readiness domains (see Table 1). Further, there were significant interactions predicting language and cognitive school readiness. Specifically, at low, but not high, levels of emotion regulation, higher levels of ADHD behaviors predicted lower language (b = -.19, p <.001) and cognitive (b = -.17, p <.001) school readiness. For models including peer functioning as the focal moderator, both ADHD behaviors and peer functioning were unique predictors of all school readiness domains (see Table 2). Additionally, there were significant interactions predicting language and cognitive school readiness. Specifically, at low, but not high, levels of adaptive peer functioning, higher levels of ADHD behaviors predicted lower language (b = -.16, p <.001) and cognitive (b = -.18, p <.001) school readiness.

Findings suggest that preschoolers’ emotion regulation, peer functioning, and ADHD behaviors play unique roles in language, cognitive, literacy, and mathematics school readiness. Further, emotion regulation and adaptive peer functioning may buffer negative associations between ADHD behaviors and language and cognitive school readiness. In the context of clinical and educational practice, tailoring classroom instruction and interventions to explicitly target emotion regulation and peer functioning may be important for supporting language and cognitive skills among children exhibiting early ADHD behaviors.

Authors

• Allison Krasner, University of Vermont
  Presenting Author

• Erin K Shoulberg, University of Vermont

• Marissa Dennis, University of Vermont

• Hannah Scott, University of Vermont

• Betsy Hoza, University of Vermont