Preschool Predictors Research Articles

Preschool predictors of narrative writing skills in elementary school children.

Preschool predictors of narrative writing skills in elementary school children.

Social and Demographic Predictors of Preschoolers' Bedtime Routines: Erratum

Social and Demographic Predictors of Preschoolers' Bedtime Routines: Erratum

Social and demographic predictors of preschoolers' bedtime routines.

To examine the associations of child and family sociodemographic characteristics with preschooler bedtime routines. We use parent-report data of 3217 3-year-old children (48% black, 26% Hispanic, and 22% white) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine whether child and family characteristics are associated with the presence, time, and consistency of bedtime routines. More than 80% of sample children have a bedtime yet only two thirds follow it. After extensive controls for maternal education, family structure, and other household characteristics, black and Hispanic children have later bedtimes than white children and reduced odds of using regular bedtimes (by 22% and 29%, respectively) and using bedtime routines (by 47% and 33%, respectively). Low maternal education, increased household size, and poverty are associated with decreased use of parent-child interactive and hygiene-related bedtime routines. Children from disadvantaged households are less likely to have consistent bedtime routines than their more advantaged counterparts. This may contribute to later disparities in sleep quality, duration and timing, factors known to be associated with adverse behavioral, cognitive, and health outcomes.

Preschool Predictors of the Need for Early Remedial and Special Education Services

Abstract We examined child, family, and early child care predictors of teacher reports of referral for or placement in special and remedial education for 999 youth. Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and nested multivariate modeling techniques, we found that sociodemographic factors, child cognitive abilities, and child behavior were most strongly associated with special education services. Specifically, lower income, cognitive ability, prosocial ability, and maternal sensitivity (as defined by ratings of mother‐child interactions) were all associated with both remedial (e.g., reading assistance) and special education (e.g., part‐ and full‐day resource room) services by second grade. Child birth order and number of measurement times (6, 15, 24, 36, and 54 months) when child was in center care were associated with remedial services only, whereas child gender and parent marital status (never partnered) were associated ...

Predicting kindergarten peer social status from toddler and preschool problem behavior.

The aim of this study was to investigate the toddler and preschool predictors of early peer social preference. Behavioral and social functioning were examined in a sample of children across the toddler and preschool years from parent and teacher observations. Kindergarten social behavior and peer social preference were assessed in the children's kindergarten classrooms using standard sociometric techniques. Results indicated that parent report of toddler externalizing behavior and teacher report of preschool problem behavior, as indexed by aggressive behavior, social skills, and emotional regulation, were predictive of peer liking in kindergarten. However, this relation was mediated by specific behaviors evidenced in the kindergarten classroom. For boys, overt aggression mediated these relations. For girls, sharing and engaging in sneaky behavior in kindergarten mediated the relation between preschool problem behaviors and peer status. These results indicate that specific behaviors displayed in the peer group account for the relation between early problem behavior and peer status. Moreover, these data point to the importance of considering gender when examining developmental trajectories and outcomes.

Newborn and Preschool Predictors of Second-Grade Reading Scores

This study examined how the development of foundation skills in speech perception, language, short-term memory, and family demographics and activities in the home environment influence the development of reading skills. Data from 96 children participating in a longitudinal research project were used. It was hypothesized that measures of specific foundation skills in the preschool period and measures of family demographics and home environment could be used to identify children's reading abilities. As expected, most of the foundation skills were found to be related to and predictive of reading scores. Event-related potential (ERP) measures of speech perception, which have previously been found to be predictive of reading abilities, and measures of family and home activities and language measures were related to reading scores. Verbal short-term memory scores contributed little to the prediction of reading scores. These variables influenced the results whether they were used to discriminate reading groups or to predict a continuum of reading scores, but there were large differences in the amount of variance accounted for. More variance was accounted for in the group analyses than in the continuum analyses.

Early Preschool Predictors of Preadolescent Internalizing and Externalizing DSM-IV Diagnoses

To investigate the independent predictive value of parent-reported psychopathology and family risk factors in early preschool in relation to parent-reported internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in preadolescence. Subjects were participants in a longitudinal study of 420 two- to three-year-olds from the general population of Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands, which started in 1989. At a second follow-up 8 years later (ages 10-11 years), 358 children participated. For this study, 332 children were included for whom DSM-IV diagnoses (derived from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Version 4-Parent Version) were obtained at age 10 to 11 years. Preschool risk factors were obtained through the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 2 to 3 years and a parent interview. Early preschool internalizing and externalizing problems were predictive of their DSM-IV counterparts 8 years later, independent of the influence of early parent-reported family risk factors. Preschool child physical problems were independently predictive of both internalizing and externalizing diagnoses in preadolescence. Of the environmental risk factors, only stressful life events contributed independently to the prediction of later externalizing problems. Early adverse family circumstances and parenting characteristics do not contribute to the prediction of later psychopathology once child characteristics are accounted for.

Child-Reported Depression and Anxiety in Preadolescence: II. Preschool Predictors

To examine the predictive association of parent- and teacher-reported behaviors at age 2 to 3 years in relation to child-reported depression and anxiety at age 10 to 11 years. Subjects were participants in a longitudinal study of 420 children aged 2 to 3 years from the general population first assessed in 1989 and again in 1991 (n = 397) and 1997 (n = 358). For the present study, 249 children were included for whom all relevant measures were obtained. These measures include the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 2- to 3-year-olds at time 1, the CBCL for 4- to 18-year-olds and the Teacher's Report Form at time 2, and the Dimensions of Depression Profile for Children and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children at time 3. Only 5 and 8 of 220 parent-reported preschool problem items were significantly related to later child-reported depression and anxiety, respectively, and only 3 of 120 teacher-reported problem items were related to later anxiety. Of 120 teacher-reported preschool problem items, 21 were significantly related to later depression, including items referring to early signs of depression and social and academic problems. Teachers, but not parents, can provide valuable information regarding preschool signals of preadolescent depression, but not anxiety. These signals include early social and academic problems.

Affective predictors of preschoolers' aggression and peer acceptance: Direct and indirect effects.

Affective predictors of preschoolers' aggression and peer acceptance: Direct and indirect effects.

Affective predictors of preschoolers' aggression and peer acceptance: Direct and indirect effects.

Observational assessments were made of 51 preschoolers' (mean age = 53.25 months) peer aggression and emotional displays outside of (baseline) and during aggressive interactions, and their emotion knowledge and peer acceptance were also assessed. Results indicated that the connections between children's affective dispositions and their aggression and peer acceptance varied as a function of both the emotion context (baseline vs. aggression related) and the particular emotion involved (happiness vs. anger). Emotion knowledge and affective dispositions overlapped little with each other, and both made independent contributions to peer acceptance and aggression. Mediation analyses revealed, however, that the significant connections between children's emotional dispositions and knowledge and their peer acceptance were mostly mediated by aggression.

Predictors of Preschoolers' Self-Knowledge: Reference to Emotion and Mental States in Mother-Child Conversation about Past Events

Reference to emotion and mental states were expected to predict the organization of children's self-knowledge. Thirty-three 3.5- to 4.5-year-olds (17 females and 15 males) discussed 4 past events with their mothers. Conversations were coded for emotional content and reference to mental states. Children completed the Children's Self-View Questionnaire (CSVQ; Eder, 1990). Organization of self-knowledge was defined as the consistency with which children rated themselves as either high or low with respect to the dispositions indexed by the CSVQ. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that reference to emotion was a significant predictor of organization scores after controlling for linguistic skill, but that mental state reference was not. Mothers initiated talk about emotion more often than their children did. The results are consistent with theories of the early social construction of the self-concept and have implications for developing models of autobiographical memory.

Parental Contributions to Preschoolers' Emotional Competence: Direct and Indirect Effects

The present study examines the contributions of (1) parental socialization of emotion and preschoolers' emotional interaction with parents to their emotional competence, and (2) parental socialization and child emotional competence to their general social competence. Both observational and self-report techniques were used to measure emotion socialization, emotional competence, and social competence of preschoolers (average age = 49.8 months) from 60 middle-socioeconomic-status families. Data were collected in both classroom and home settings. In general, the results suggest that parental modeling of expressive styles and emotional responsiveness to child emotions are important predictors of preschoolers' emotional competence and their overall social competence. Children whose parents were more affectively positive tended to display more positive emotion with peers, whereas children whose parents were more negative appeared less socially competent in the preschool. Parents who were better coaches of their children's emotions had children who understood emotions better. Age and sex moderated several of the study's key findings. The results are consistent with earlier research indicating that parental socialization of emotion impacts the child's emotional and social functioning both at home and in the preschool.

Social‐Emotional Predictors of Preschoolers' Responses to Adult Negative Emotion

The study examined predictors of children's prosocial responses to adult negative emotions. An adult displayed anger, sadness and pain during play sessions with 39 preschoolers (mean age = 43 months). Older children responded more prosocially to all three emotions, whereas children with greater emotion knowledge responded more prosocially to the adult's sadness. Children who behaved prosocially in response to peers' negative emotions also were prosocial after the adult's negative emotions, even with effects of age and emotion knowledge held constant. Assertive children responded more prosocially to the adult's anger, even with effects of other variables held constant. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The interrelationships among preschool predictors of reading acquisition for German children

A sample of 169 German children were tested in general verbal ability, verbal memory span, phonological awareness, lexical access speed and accuracy, and letter knowledge in preschool. These tests were used as independent measures predicting performance on second grade reading comprehension, word discrimination, and word decoding speed. Tests of verbal ability, memory capacity, and phonological awareness were also given over a year later in elementary school. After determining that the influence of verbal ability, memory capacity, and phonological awareness on reading comprehension was comparable when measured in preschool and elementary school, the effects of all preschool measures on the three dependent reading measures were assessed. These analyses revealed differential main effects and interactions for the three dependent measures. However, a significant three-way interaction among lexical access, memory capacity, and phonological awareness was found for all three reading measures. These results indicate that the interaction and subsequent effects of these linguistic skills precedes and influences reading acquisition. This is contrary to the view that these skills interact as a result of reading experience. The implications of these results, as well as comparisons of conducting such studies with German rather than English speaking children are discussed.

Background factors and preschool test scores as predictors of reading: a nine-year longitudinal study

Approximately 400 children were first tested at 4, and background factors were ascertained at that time. Further testing included a kindergarten reading readiness test and reading tests at grades 3 and 8. The best preschool predictors of reading were naming tests for boys, and general verbal ability for girls. At the kindergarten level a quantitative test surpassed tests of phonemic awareness and language in predicting reading, for both boys and girls. Family history of learning disability and preschool test behavior contributed to prediction of reading. Effects of birth order were strongest at the preschool level, and handedness had its only effects at that level. Relationships of some factors to reading differed by gender. Socioeconomic status had significant effects only for boys, and a speech delay only for girls. Conclusions were that some background factors may contribute to the preschool prediction of reading, and particularly to the prospective identification of poor readers.

Cognitive development and locus of control as predictors of preschoolers' understanding of safety and prevention

Preschoolers' cognitive level and locus of control orientation and their parents' locus of control orientation were considered as possible predictors of children's abilities to differentiate between safe and unsafe situations (safety score) and specify preventive measures (prevention score). Individual interviews were conducted with 3- to 6-year-old children enrolled at a daycare center, and their parents completed the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control and the Accident Locus of Control (ALOC) scales. As hypothesized, children's level of causal reasoning was positively correlated with their safety and prevention scores. A curvilinear relationship was evident relationship existed with prevention score. Fathers' ALOC score was the only parent measure that predicted children's safety score, while none of the parent measures were predictive of children's prevention score. The findings were discussed in terms of safety education programs and directions for future research.

Comparison of Three Intelligence Tests as Predictors of Academic Achievement and Classroom Behaviors of Mexican-American Children

The school performance of low-income Mexican-American children was predicted from scores on three intelligence tests. The Stanford-Binet (S-B) was given at 3 years, S-B and McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) at 4 years, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) at 7-9 years. School grades, Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) scores, and the Classroom Behavior Inventory (CBI) comprised the school performance measures. Grades were predicted significantly by S-B, but there were no significant correlations for the other tests. All the intelligence tests had some significant correlations with some of the ITBS and CBI scores. The S-B and MSCA were about equal as preschool predictors of ITBS and CBI scores. The controversy over the value of the WISC-R in assessing minority-group children was discussed in view of the finding that WISC-R scores were significantly correlated with the ITBS but not with grades.

PREDICTION OF EARLY SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

This study compares observations embedded during a health procedure (START), a developmental screening test (DDST), and an IQ test (Stanford-Binet) as preschool predictors of school performance. The START procedure is a method in which standard vision acuity procedures are altered so that the approach to testing can be modified based on the child's level of understanding and so that behavioral responses can be quantified without prolonging the procedure itself. Our previous research has consistently demonstrated that prediction of concurrent developmental status is as good or better than that achieved by extensive developmental tests designed exclusively for assessing development. We have also demonstrated that the strictly visual acuity component is more cost-effective than standard acuity screening apart from consideration of the developmental data obtained. A county-wide cohort of prekindergarten children (N=382) were screened using START and a parent report (GD-45). A stratified sample, (N=120) based on the GD-45 results with oversampling of low scores, was recalled and tested with the DDST and the Stanford-Binet. Followup school data were obtained for all children in K and 1st grade. START screening was found to correlate with achievement testing (.50 to .58) better than the Stanford-Binet (.35 to .37). Clinical indices predicting poor school outcome (failure and/or special placement and/or achievement test results <20th %ile) were all slightly better from START than from the DDST and substantially better than obtained from IQ scores: (e.g. sensitivity of .64, .57, and .37 respectively).