A picture of strength: Preschool competencies mediate the effects of early behavior problems on later academic and social adjustment for Head Start children

Abstract

In the current study, the authors tested the hypothesis that the relationship between early behavior problems and later academic and social outcomes is mediated by children's evidence of strengths during the transition to school. A locally representative and predominantly African American sample of 162 Head Start children was assessed at the end of children's Head Start experience and again at the end of their first grade year. Findings based on structural equation modeling revealed that both the partial and full mediation models better explained the data than the direct effects model, suggesting that the influence of preschool behavior problems is more fully understood in the context of children's concomitant strengths. The authors conclude with a discussion of the practical and policy implications of these findings and how they extend prior research on the relationship between early problem behavior and later school adjustment.