Early Social-emotional Development Research Articles

Rural China and the gender gap in early social-emotional development

Rural girls in China stay in school longer than boys and outperform them in many subjects. This gender gap suggests analogous disparities in early childhood development, a key factor in later educational outcomes. This study examines gender disparities in social-emotional development among 1,301 children aged 18–30 months in rural China. Results indicate that male children trail their female counterparts by 0.18 SD on average on the scale of standardized ASQ:SE score. A large share of the difference is driven by the bottom 10 % of children, where the magnitude of the gender gap (0.34 SD) is 1.9 times larger than at the median (0.19 SD). Demographic characteristics are uncorrelated with the gender gap in heterogeneity analysis, suggesting that the mechanisms underlying observed gender disparities are similar across rural Chinese households.

Validation of the Chinese Empathy Questionnaire for Pre-School Children

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Empathy plays an important role in children’s early social-emotional development. However, there are not many instruments available for measuring the different aspects/levels of empathy in preschool children. Moreover, few studies examined the validity of the existing measures for empathy in Chinese children. The present study tested the Chinese version of the Empathy Questionnaire (EmQue) upon a group of Chinese preschool children (N = 182) aged from 2 to 6 years. The Chinese EmQue is a parent-report translated from Dutch that assesses the behavioral manifestations of three distinct levels of empathy: emotion contagion, attention to others’ feelings, and prosocial behaviors among preschool children. Confirmatory factor analysis showed satisfactory goodness-of-fit indexes for a three-level structure with 19 loading items. The results of concurrent validity showed that the three levels of empathy were functioning differently in the early social-emotional development. Practice or Policy: We could conclude that the 19-item Chinese EmQue is a valid, reliable instrument for measuring empathy in 2- to 6-year-old children in the Chinese context.

Parental prenatal representations of the child are related to 18-month-old children’s social-emotional competence

ABSTRACT Parental representations of the child are linked to positive developmental outcomes in children, but the impact of prenatal representations on early social-emotional development, particularly from fathers, is less understood. This study explores how fathers’ and mothers’ prenatal representations within two-parent families are associated with early social-emotional development. Prenatal representations of fathers (n = 88) and mothers (n = 92) were assessed between 28 and 32 weeks of gestation using the Working Model of the Child Interview, categorizing them as balanced or nonbalanced. The children’s (n = 97; 49.5% girls) social-emotional and behavioral problems and competencies were measured at 18 months using the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment. Balanced prenatal representations of both parents were related to higher social-emotional competence in toddlers. However, prenatal representations were not related to social-emotional and behavioral problems. The results highlight the benefits of balanced prenatal representations in promoting early social-emotional competence in children.

The Role of Parents in Early Childhood Social Emotional Development

Early childhood education is the initial stage in a child's development. Development that starts from the family environment and involves the role of parents, also focuses on developing social emotional skills. The role of parents in children's emotional development is needed, because parents can accompany and develop children's intelligence as much as possible. The aim of this research is to describe the role of parents in the social emotions of early childhood and the factors that influence children's emotions. This research method is qualitative descriptive research. The type of research is Literature Study (Literature Study). The results of this research show that the role of parents in developing the social-emotional abilities of early childhood is as first and foremost educators as capital and as friends for children. The second result shows that the factors that influence children's emotions include maturity factors, conflict factors and learning environment factors.

Optimization of Early Childhood Social Emotional Development Through Exercise Methods and Learning Videos

This research aims to investigate ways to enhance the social and emotional development of young children through Drill and video learning methods. The research topic covers the definition and importance of social-emotional development in young children, learning through Drill and video methods in young children, and strategies to enhance social-emotional development through Drill and video methods in young children. The method used in this research is qualitative with a literature study, using data sources such as journals and books published in the last 5 years. The results show that, first, social-emotional development in young children refers to the process by which children develop the ability to interact socially and manage their emotions effectively. This involves understanding and expressing emotions, developing social relationships, and adapting to their social environment. Second, learning through Drill and video methods is an effective way to encourage active participation, cooperation, and the development of social-emotional skills in young children. Through Drill and video learning methods, children can learn to interact, share, and collaborate while also developing cognitive and academic skills. Third, strategies to optimize the social-emotional development of young children through Drill and video learning methods include forming inclusive groups, facilitating positive interactions, developing social skills, cooperative games, facilitating emotional expression, positive feedback, and leadership concept building.

Analisis Perkembangan Sosial Emosional Anak Usia Dini pada Permainan Tradisional Congklak di Kelompok B TK Al Ikhlas 01 Sambong Batang

Early childhood education at the age of 0-6 years is known as the Golden Age period. This period that only lasts once in each individual's lifetime can have an influence on the next stage of growth and development. So it is necessary to provide appropriate stimulation, one of which is to stimulate social emotional development. Social emotional development can be improved by playing traditional congklak games. In this study, it aims to provide an overview of traditional games in early childhood and determine the increase in social emotional development in early childhood through playing traditional congklak games and knowing the factors that influence early childhood social-emotional development when doing traditional congklak games. The method in this study is included in the type of field research (field research) and in terms of the type of data collected is included in qualitative approach research. The study was conducted in a natural setting in group B of TK Al-Ikhlas 01 Sambong Batang. Data mining is carried out using three main methods, namely in-depth observation, , interviews and documentation. Early childhood social emotional development in group B of TK Al Ikhlas 01 Sambong Batang before going through the traditional game of congklak there were 7 children who were not yet developed (BB), 15 children began to develop (MB), 3 children developed as expected (BSH). However, after going through the traditional game of congklak began to be seen and improved, there were 6 children starting to develop (MB), there were 14 children developing as expected and 5 children developing very well (BSB). The effectiveness of learning using traditional congklak games in early childhood social-emotional development in group B of TK Al Ikhlas 01 Sambong Batang is very effective to use. When playing congklak, students hone patience, train confidence in making decisions, be responsible in carrying out tasks, train children to be more independent and not dependent on others and train self-management behavior in children. Factors that influence the social emotional development of early childhood in traditional congklak games are general factors that are divided into maturity factors which are classified as heredity factors and learning environment.

Intergenerational transmission of parent adverse childhood experiences to child outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveThe current meta-analytic review provides a comprehensive synthesis of studies examining parent exposure to ACEs and the developmental and mental health outcomes of their children. Participants and settingEligible studies up to August 2021 were identified through comprehensive database searches in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and Embase. Studies that were included examined the intergenerational effects of parent ACEs on child development (i.e., cognitive, language, motor, social difficulties, and early social-emotional development) or mental health (i.e., internalizing problems, externalizing problems) outcomes. MethodsData were extracted by two coders using a standardized extraction protocol. A multi-level meta-analytic approach was used to derive pooled effect sizes and test for moderators. ResultsA total of 52 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Parent ACEs were positively associated with child mental health problems (r=0.17, 95% CI [0.12, 0.21], p<.001), child externalizing difficulties (r=0.20, 95% CI [0.15, 0.26], p<.001), and child internalizing difficulties (r=0.17, 95% CI [0.11, 0.22], p<.001). There were no significant sociodemographic (i.e., child age, parent age, income level, child sex, or racial/ethnic minority status) or methodological (i.e., study type or quality) moderators of these associations. Preliminary evidence suggests that parent ACEs were not associated with offspring developmental outcomes, such as cognitive or language skills. ConclusionsResults suggest that parent ACEs are associated with some, but not all child outcomes. Additional research focused on the mechanisms of transmission are needed to inform policies and practices related to the intergenerational transmission of ACEs.

Risk Factors Social-Emotional Development Disorders in Children

Monitoring development in early childhood is one of the efforts that must be done from the womb until the child is five years old. Early childhood development includes 5 different aspects, namely physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and languange development. Social emotional development includes children's ability to build interactions between individuals and individuals with the environment. The Covid-19 pandemic is a factor that can pose a risk to early childhood mental and behavioral health. This study's main goal was to look at the Covid-19 pandemic's potential risk factors for children's social-emotional development issues. The research method used an observational analytic design. Sampling through purposive sampling technique with a total 89 samples. This study using primary data from interviews with ASQ: SE, PSDQ, and respondent data sheet. The results of the study obtained mother’s education, socioeconomic status, parenting pattern, and exclusive breastfeeding as risk factors associated with impaired early childhood social emotional development during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results of statistical analysis through the Pearson Chi-Square test was obtained p-value &lt;0,05.

The Effect of Parenting Patterns and Digital Literacy on Social-Emotional Development in Early Children

Early childhood education is tasked with providing efforts to guide, stimulate, hone, and provide activities that will produce children with their abilities and skills. This study aims to reveal the effect of parenting and digital literacy on the social-emotional development of early childhood. The research methodology used is quantitative research with a survey approach. The population of this study was all group B students in Cluster 8 Pondok Cabe Ilir Village, totaling 285 students. The research sample is 205. The sampling technique uses random sampling. The research data were obtained from valid and reliable instruments. The results of the study 1) Parenting has a positive effect on the Social Emotional Development of Early Childhood; 2) Digital Literacy has a positive effect on Early Childhood Social Emotional Development; 3) Parenting and Digital Literacy simultaneously or simultaneously have a positive effect on Early Childhood Social Emotional Development; 4) The Variables of Early Childhood Social Emotional Development (Y) can be explained by Parenting Patterns (X1) and Digital Literacy (X2), so it can be concluded that the influence of Parenting Patterns and Digital Literacy together on Early Childhood Social Emotional Development by 60.4%.

The Unique Role of Father Involvement in Child Socioemotional Development

The role of fathers in the modern households has significantly changed, prompting scholarly interest in the uniqueness of paternal influences. The early childhood development literature is thereby no longer limited to focus solely on the effects of maternal behaviors. In particular, father involvement is regarded to have distinct mechanisms of influence on children's early social-emotional development that relatively independent of motherhood. However, there is not even a consistent definition of father involvement yet, and the current literature has received little attention within the pathways of how its influence on early childhood development. To bridge this gap, this paper aims to explore aspects of father involvement and the mechanisms of its impact on children's social-emotional behavior. Grounded on attachment theory and activation relationship theory, this paper presents that father involvement can build high-quality father-child attachments both through sensitive affection engagement and the challenges and activations that common in physical play, thus having a unique impact on children's social-emotional behavior that is different from that of their mothers. This paper can serve as an inspiration for future directions in father involvement research and has potential practical implications for policymakers and families with newborns. There remains ambiguities and gaps in the research on the parenting literature, such as there are very few studies have yet considered the dynamic and reciprocal nature of the father-child relationship, which need to be addressed by future research.

DAMPAK PENGGUNAAN GADGET TERHADAP PERKEMBANGAN SOSIAL EMOSIONAL ANAK USIA DINI

This study aims to determine the impact of gadgets on early childhood social emotional development. This research is a type of qualitative research with a case study approach, the location of the study was carried out in RA Baytussalam North Lombok, the subjects in this study were RA Baytussalam Dusun Dasan Tengak students totaling 16 students, 1 teacher, and 2 guardians of students. The results of the analysis show that the impact of gadget use on the social emotional development of children in RA Baytussalam consists of positive impacts and negative impacts. The positive use of gadgets is to increase imagination, train intelligence, and improve the ability to recognize letters and numbers. While the negative impacts of using gadgets are being a closed person, having trouble sleeping, children getting angry easily, and being exposed to radiation.

Pathways from marital relationships to children's social-emotional development in Korea: The role of parenting and social support

Using three waves of data from the Panel Study of Korean Children (family N = 1,723), this study investigated whether and how the longitudinal effects of marital relationships on children's social-emotional development are mediated through parenting and the moderating role of social support in the mediating processes. Results showed that fathers’ coparenting and warmth and mothers’ parenting stress mediated the effects of marital relationships on children's externalizing and internalizing problems. Notably, some of the mediating processes were moderated by social support from extended family, friends, and neighbors. Our findings highlight the importance of considering both the proximal and broader family environment (e.g., social support from people outside the family) in understanding children's early social-emotional development.

Latinx dual language learners in the U.S.: Examining family context during early social emotional development.

Latinx dual language learners (DLLs) make up a large, growing population in the United States, yet little is known about their early childhood experiences, particularly regarding parenting, socioeconomic risk, and social emotional development (SED). This prospective, longitudinal study examined whether parental intrusiveness, parental stress, and parental warmth function differently in Latinx DLL families as compared to White monolingual (ML) families while controlling for relevant sociodemographic factors. Data were drawn from the Early Head Start (EHS) family and child experiences study, where White ML (n = 143) and Latinx DLL (n = 247) children and families were assessed at ages 2 and 3. Results indicated a significant interaction between Latinx DLL status and parental intrusiveness on behavior problems. Simple slopes indicated that greater intrusiveness was related to increased behavior problems for White ML families but was not related in Latinx DLL families. There was no significant interaction, however, between parental stress and Latinx DLL status on children's SED. Further, parental warmth did not further moderate the relationship between parental intrusiveness and Latinx DLL status. Overall, there were both similarities and differences between Latinx DLLs and White MLs in both the prevalence of these characteristics and how they relate to child behavior. These results highlight the importance of considering contextual factors, such as ethnic culture and language status, when examining parenting in both clinical and research settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Neighborhood matters: Neighborhood violence, collective efficacy, and social emotional development in early childhood

Exposure to community violence has been associated with a range of negative behavioral outcomes among school-age children and adolescents; yet there is limited evidence in the preschool setting. In the current study we examined the association between objective and parent-perceived neighborhood safety, and perceived collective efficacy, on behavioral concerns of children aged 3–5 enrolled at an early childhood school in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2014 to 19 (n = 165). Teachers collected data on outcome measures of child social emotional well-being in the classroom setting. A parent survey included data on residential address, how safe they felt in their neighborhood, and perceived collective efficacy. Addresses were geocoded and linked by Census tract number to data on violent crime rates (per 1,000 tract residents). Associations between neighborhood violent crime, perceived safety, perceived collective efficacy, and child social emotional development were assessed with generalized estimating equations. After mutually adjusting for perceived neighborhood safety and violent crime rate, children of parents with the lowest perceived neighborhood collective efficacy had similar findings: children of parents that perceive the neighborhood as unsafe had a lower attachment (β = −6.55, 95 % CI 1.44, 11.66) and protective score (β = −4.51, 95 % CI 0.89–8.13) and a 10-unit increase in violent crime was associated with a decrease in attachment score (β = −2.77, 95 % CI −4.22, −1.32). Overall, child attachment and protective scores were significantly associated with perceived unsafe neighborhoods and violent crime, and the relationship was moderated by perceived neighborhood efficacy. These findings suggest a negative impact of perceived neighborhood safety and protective impact of collective efficacy on early childhood social emotional development.

Paternal mind-mindedness and infant-toddler social-emotional problems

A growing body of evidence suggests that paternal behaviors are influential in child development. However, few studies have focused on paternal mind-mindedness, that is, the tendency of fathers to view their child as having mental agency, which is manifested as a propensity to name the child's mental states while they are interacting with the child. The purpose of this study was to better understand the role of paternal mind-mindedness in the development of social-emotional problems during infancy. 131 families (father-mother-child) were recruited from the community and assessed when children were 6, 12, and 18 months old. Paternal and maternal mind-mindedness was assessed through observation of father-child and mother-child dyads at 6 months. Children’s social-emotional problems were measured with a questionnaire completed by both parents at 12 and 18 months. Results indicate that maternal mind-mindedness at 6 months predicts fewer social-emotional problems at 12 months, while fathers' mind-mindedness at 6 months predicts fewer social-emotional problems at 18 months. This study highlights the unique contribution of paternal mind-mindedness to children’s early social-emotional development.

Parental perceived stress and its consequences on early social-emotional child development during COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and the resulting highly infectious disease COVID-19 led to restrictions based on the principal of social distancing to curb the spread of the virus among the population and to prevent an overload of health system capacities. These restrictions changed the daily lives of young children and parents dramatically. In a German questionnaire study, we aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the magnitude of stress in parent-child systems and on social-emotional child development. Our sample consisted of 90 (39 male, 51 female) children ( M = 17.2 months, SD = 9.7 months) aged 7–12 months ( n = 38), 13–24 months ( n = 31) and 25–38 months ( n = 21). Parental stress was measured using the German version of the Parenting Stress Index, namely Eltern-Belastungs-Inventar. Additionally, social-emotional child development was measured using the Social-Emotional Questionnaire of the Bayley-III. Our findings show that parents experienced more stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany compared to norms. Parental perceived stress was higher in parents of older children than younger ones. Interestingly, social-emotional child behavior scores significantly decreased with children’s increasing age. Moreover, higher parental stress was associated with lower values of social-emotional child behavior. Our findings provide important novel data on parental perceived stress and social-emotional child development during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, further research investigating the long-term consequences of the pandemic is needed.

Supplemental Material for Latinx Dual Language Learners in the U.S.: Examining Family Context During Early Social Emotional Development

Supplemental Material for Latinx Dual Language Learners in the U.S.: Examining Family Context During Early Social Emotional Development

Impact of parent-child separation on children\u2019s social-emotional development: a cross-sectional study of left-behind children in poor rural areas of China

BackgroundParent-child separation is a considerable adversity for left-behind children (LBC), but there is little evidence on the association between detailed characteristics of parent-child separation and social-emotional development among LBC. This study examined the characteristics of parent-child separation and its impacts on developmental delay among under-3 LBC in poor rural China.MethodsWe used data from 811 LBC surveyed in five poor counties in rural China in 2018. Detailed characteristics of their parental migration were recalled by their primary caregivers in face-to-face interviews. The children’s social-emotional development was measured by using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional. Logistic regression was employed to examine the association of detailed characteristics of parent-child separation with early social-emotional problems after adjusting for the children’s and primary caregivers’ sociodemographic characteristics.Results287 (35.4%) children were left behind by fathers and cared for by mothers (FM-MC), while 524 (64.6%) were left behind by both parents and cared for by grandparents (PM-GC). The rate of social-emotional problems among LBC was 36.8% (PM-GC vs FM-MC: 40.6% vs 29.5%; aOR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.16). For paternal migration, the medians of the child’s age at the first migration and average duration per migration were 3 months (IQR: 1 to 9 months) and 4.48 months (IQR: 2.38 to 7.54 months), respectively. For maternal migration, the corresponding values were 9 months (IQR: 6 to 13 months) and 4.65 months (IQR: 2.71 to 7.62 months), respectively. On average, LBC had been separated from fathers for 72% of their life due to paternal migration and from mothers for 52% of their life due to maternal migration. No significant association was found between the detailed characteristics of paternal migration and social-emotional development among LBC, while social-emotional problems among LBC were significantly associated with the proportion of cumulative duration of maternal migration in the child’s lifetime (aOR 2.83; 95% CI: 1.13 to 7.10).ConclusionsLBC under 3 years had a high risk of social-emotional problems in poor rural China. Cumulative exposure to maternal migration may be detrimental to LBC’s early social-emotional development. Programs are necessary to support these children as well as their families.

Parental migration, nurturing care, and early social-emotional development of children in rural China

Around one-third of children experience separation from parents and absence of parental care due to parental migration in rural China. Despite numerous studies on left-behind children, little is known about early social-emotional development of those who experience parental migration in the first three years. This study explored whether and why parental migration is associated with children's early social-emotional development. We used data of 2,247 children aged 3–35 months with various parental migration statuses who were enrolled in a cross-sectional survey conducted in six counties of northern and southern China in 2013. Social-emotional problems were assessed by the Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional. A structural equation model (SEM) was employed to explore the pathways linking parental migration to children's early social-emotional problems in which family economics, substitute caregivers’ education, depressive symptoms and nurturing care practices were measured as mediators. We found that the prevalence of social-emotional problems in children with non-migrant parents and with migrant fathers was 17.4% and 19.9% respectively, with no significant difference between them. The prevalence in children with both migrant parents was 27.2%, which was significantly higher than that in children cared for by mothers (adjusted OR 1.43 [95%CI 1.02, 1.99]). The SEM results show that substitute caregivers’ lower education and more depressive symptoms and the consequent more negative parenting practices than mothers accounted for the increased risk of social-emotional problems among children with both migrant parents compared to those with non-migrant mothers. These findings imply a need of a multi-dimensional intervention framework to support these children and their families.

Infant screen media usage and social-emotional functioning

There has been little research on whether and how screen media usage affects social-emotional (SE) function prior to two years of age, even though early SE development is understood to be nurtured through interpersonal experience, mainly withthe primary caregiver. This study sought to characterise infant screen media usage and understand how it may link with concurrent SE function by testing associated effects on reducing parent-infant interaction and of parent psychological factors. Questionnaire responses from 327 UK-based parents of infants aged 6–24 months showed diverse usage in the amount of time spent on screen media (‘screen time’) and amount of parental involvement (co-sharing and co-referencing). Infants with possible SE delay experienced more screen time than those at low risk. The study tested three mediation models and found support for the displacement and not distancing hypothesis based on this community sample. While screen time predicted both SE competence and SE problems, reduced parent-infant play partially mediated the effect on SE competence. Parent depressed mood was positively linked with infant SE problems, but there was little evidence that increased screen time mediated this effect. Also, parent reflective function and attitudes toward parent-infant play were unrelated to screen time. Though longitudinal study is warranted, the findings implicate screen media usage as potentially directly and indirectly relevant when addressing infant mental health.