Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine whether the negative emotionality and shyness of 3-year-old children's temperament have a longitudinal effect on the school readiness of 5-year-old preschool children mediated by sleep problems one year later. Methods Data from 1,415 households in the 5th (2012), 6th (2013), and 7th (2014) years of the Panel Study on Korean Children(PSKC) conducted by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education were used. Correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the descriptive statistics and relationships of the main research variables, and structural equation models were analyzed to determine the paths between the variables. Bootstrapping was also conducted to test the significance of the indirect effects. Results It has been found that the negative emotionality of 3-year-old children's temperament not only directly influences the school readiness of preschool children at the age of 5, but also indirectly affects their readiness through mediating the sleeping patterns of children. However, while shyness has a direct impact on preschool children's readiness for learning two years later, its indirect effect was found to be insignificant. Conclusions This study confirmed the longitudinal effects of the negative emotionality and shyness of 3-year-old children's temperament and the children's sleep problems one year later in explaining the school readiness of 5-year-old preschool children. These results can be used to raise the importance of sleep in early childhood and to develop a range of measures to support children's readiness to learn based on their temperament.
Read full abstract