Structural Relationships among Socioeconomic Status, Home Environment Stimulation and Language Ability on Young Children’s Peer Play Behavior

Abstract

This study explore the structural relationships among socioeconomic status, home environment stimulation, and language ability on young children"s peer play behavior. The 2011 data of the Panel Study on Korean Children were used. The sample for this analysis was 671 young children of aged 35 to 42 months and their classroom teachers.<BR> The results of this investigation reveal the following: (1) Socioeconomic status(income, father"s occupation, and father"s educational level significantly affected home environment stimulation(learning materials, language stimulation, physical environment, responsiveness, learning stimulation, and variety of materials). (2) The relationship between socioeconomic status and young children"s language ability(receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary) are significantly mediated by home environment stimulation. (3) The relationship between socioeconomic status and young children"s peer play behavior are significantly mediated by home environment stimulation and young children"s language ability. Future research is needed to examine associations with variables related to teachers and explore moderating factors between poverty and young children"s peer play behavior.