New Insights into the Processes at Play in the Adjustment of Young “At Risk” Children

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Children who exhibit social withdrawal or behavior problems during childhood are at increased risk for interpersonal, academic, socioemotional, and behavioral adjustment problems. In order to promote positive development for these “at risk” children, it is of vital importance to gain more knowledge about the mechanisms that may drive these negative associations, and to identify risk and protective factors that may intensify or reduce the likelihood of such negative developmental pathways. In this symposium, three researchers will present findings that specifically address these issues by focusing on the role of both child characteristics and children’s relations with parents and teachers in the adjustment of young “at risk” children. The first researcher will present results from an Italian study using mediation analyses to examine if differences in children’s play behaviors may account for the quality of the teacher-child relationships of shy preschool children. The second researcher will present findings from a Chinese study using moderation analyses to examine if maternal psychological control may influence the relations between child unsociability and adjustment difficulties in young Chinese children. The third researcher will present results from a Norwegian study using moderated mediation analyses to explore the potential of teacher-child closeness as a protective factor for the academic and social development of young Norwegian children exhibiting externalizing behaviors. With the use of advanced methodology and samples of children from different cultural backgrounds, this symposium aims to provide additional insights into questions regarding the universality of common processes and mechanisms in child development across culturally diverse contexts.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Silje Baardstu, Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Discussant

• Robert J. Coplan, Carleton University

Individual Presentations

• Links Among Shyness, Play Behaviors, and Teacher-Child Relationship Quality in Italian Preschool Children - Presenting Author: Stefania Sette, Sapienza University of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Federica Zava, Department of Education, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy; Non-Presenting Author: Emma| Baumgartner; Non-Presenting Author: Fiorenzo Laghi, Sapienza Università di Roma

• Unsociability and Social Adjustment Difficulties among Chinese Children: The Moderating Role of Maternal Psychological Control - Presenting Author: Jingjing Zhu, Shanghai Normal University; Non-Presenting Author: Bowen Xiao, Carleton University; Non-Presenting Author: Yan Li, Shanghai Normal University; Non-Presenting Author: Robert J. Coplan, Carleton University

• Preschool Teachers Matter for the Long-Term Social and Academic Development of Children with Externalizing Difficulties - Presenting Author: Silje Baardstu, Norwegian Institute of Public Health; Non-Presenting Author: Mari Vaage Wang, Norwegian Institute of Public Health; Non-Presenting Author: Ragnhild Eek Brandlistuen, Norwegian Institute of Public Health