Social Competence In Preschool Research Articles

Exploring the relationship between executive function and social competence of preschoolers: a moderated mediation model

ABSTRACT Executive function (EF) is essential for developing social competence (SC) in early childhood. However, previous research has primarily taken a general perspective of SC and overlooked its components. Furthermore, although EF and SC are known to influence each other across childhood, the mechanisms of this interaction remain unclear. Therefore, the current study aims to explore the intricate relationship between EF and overall SC and its distinct components, aiming to clarify the underlying dynamics of their interplay. A total of 448 children, aged 36–72 months, from 12 Chinese kindergartens participated in this study. Results indicated significant associations between EF and overall SC and its components. Moreover, ER mediated the association between EF and SC, while gender moderated this association, with a stronger effect among boys compared to girls. Implications for informing and refining educational practices and policies to foster children's cognition and emotional development are discussed.

Особливості проведення корекційно-логопедичної роботи при формуванні соціальної компетентності у дітей із загальним недорозвиненням мовлення

The article outlines features of social competence of children with general speech underdevelopment and possibilities of project activities in forming social competence. The content of complex correctional and speech therapy work, which includes project activities, as a means of forming social competence, is determined and scientifically substantiated based on competent and activity approaches. Complex correctional and speech therapy action aimed at the formation of social competence in preschoolers with general speech underdevelopment, correction and compensation of their speech disorders, and adaptation and rehabilitation of students of speech therapy groups was carried out by various methods: practical, visual, and verbal. Practical methods are exercises, games, and simulations; visual-observation, examination, viewing, listening; verbal-conversations and explanations. The choice of method was determined by tasks and the stage of work, as well as individual and typical characteristics of children. At the same time, it is stated that the formation of abilities and skills necessary for full-fledged communication in a preschooler is the main task of complex correctional and speech therapy work. It is also separately noted that taking into account the identified individual and typical features (emotional and personal features of the child’s development, his speech and cognitive abilities, the presence of interest and desire to engage), the emphases of experimental training (volume of work, its intensity, duration) changed. In the process of complex corrective and speech therapy work of experimental training, the available data, information about the specifics of the development of children with general speech underdevelopment, and possible ways and methods of correction of language underdevelopment in children of this category were taken into account. Complex corrective and speech therapy work included four stages that allow the development of communicative competence during the formation of components of social competence in preschoolers with general language underdevelopment. It has been proven that in the process of interpersonal communication, which ensures the exchange of information, social contacts with surrounding people (specialists, educators, parents, peers) are normalized.

A randomized controlled trial on the digital socio-emotional competence training Zirkus Empathico for preschoolers

In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), the digital socio-emotional competence training Zirkus Empathico was tested in 74 Central European children (5.1 (0.9) years; 34 females) within a longitudinal design (three time points: T1 = pre-training; T2 = immediately following 6-week training, T3 = 3-month follow-up). The pre-registered primary outcome was empathy, secondary outcomes included emotion recognition, prosocial behavior, and behavioral problem reduction; furthermore, children’s neural sensitivity to facial expressions quantified with event-related potentials. Compared to controls (N = 38), Zirkus Empathico participants (N = 36) showed increases in empathy (d = 0.28 [−0.17, 0.76]), emotion recognition (d = 0.57 [0.01, 1.06]), prosocial behavior (d = 0.51 [0.05, 0.99]) and reduced behavioral problems (d = 0.54 [0.08, 1.03]). They also showed larger P3 amplitudes to happy vs. angry and neutral facial expressions post-training. Thus, Zirkus Empathico may be a promising digital training for social competence in preschoolers.

The relationship between emotion understanding and social skills in preschoolers: The mediating role of verbal ability and the moderating role of working memory

ABSTRACT A considerable body of research has shown that preschoolers who have a better understanding of emotions also have better social competence. In the present study, we focused on the potential roles that verbal ability and working memory may play in the relationship. A total of 187 4- to 6-year-old preschoolers completed: (i) the Test of Emotion Comprehension for emotion understanding; (ii) the Counting and Labelling test for working memory; and (iii) the Core Vocabulary scales of the WPPSI for verbal ability. Two teachers assessed each participant’s social competence. The results showed that preschoolers’ emotional understanding is a predictor of their social competence but verbal ability fully mediated the relationship. Furthermore, verbal ability positively predicted children’s social abilities only when they also had superior working memory. These findings help us to understand how verbal ability and working memory affect the relationship between emotion understanding and social competence in preschoolers.

The Development of Social Competence in Preschoolers with Disabilities as the Condition for Their Successful Educational Integration

The article presents the results of a theoretical and experimental study of an age-related psychological formation - social competence in preschool children with disabilities. The characteristic of diagnostic tools aims at studying the cognitive, emotional and behavioral component of social competence is given. The article reveals the conceptual foundations and stages of experimental research. At the first stage of the study, the levels of social competence formation have been identified and described in accordance with the identified assessment criteria. The analysis of the influence of the level of development of social competence components on the process of social adaptation to new conditions in special (correctional) and inclusive educational organizations has been presented. The experimental data presented in the study indicate systemic lack of social competence in preschool children with disabilities of various nosological groups (children with mental retardation, children with mild mental retardation, children with general speech underdevelopment, and children with visual impairments). At the second stage of the study, it has been indicated that the pedagogically organized inclusion of children with disabilities into the system of new social relations (at the stage of adaptation to school) is a key condition for their successful socialization. The necessity of the activation of their developmental capabilities in a changing situation of social development has been substantiated. It is proved that the social competence of children with disabilities will be the subjective prerequisite of school adaptation.

Promoting Social Competence in Preschool with an Executive Functions Program Conducted by Teachers

The objective of this research is to examine the effectiveness of the “Executive Function Training Program in Preschool” (EFE-P) that includes real-world activities and applies different required methodologies for a sustainable education. In addition, it is evaluated whether the improvement of executive functions is transferred to the social competence domain. The study involved 100 students aged 5–6 years, of which 50 were randomly assigned to the active control group and 50 to the experimental group. Executive functions (BRIEF-P) and social competence (BASC and PKBS-2) were measured at two time points (pre-intervention and post-intervention). Data were analyzed using the Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) for repeated data and results showed that children in the experimental group obtained better scores on executive functions and social competence compared to their peers in the control group. It is discussed if the executive functions training can be effective in improving social competence as long as the programs include real-world activities that encourage such transfer, as the EFE-P does.

Parents' observed responses to children's emotional distress: Relations with social competence in preschool.

Although affective interactions in the family are important for development, home observational data are sparse. We replicated and extended one such study, Roberts & Strayer (1987, Developmental Psychology, 23, 415). Interactions in 33 two-parent families (mean child age=4.8years; 48% girls) were observed for four evenings, from suppertime until the child settled for the night. Parents completed the Child Rearing Practices Q-sort. Peer interactions and friendship networks in preschool were observed over four days. Teachers and observers completed the Preschool Behavior Q-Sort. Based on Q-rated peer competence and aggression, three expected groups of children were identified, one of them high on both aggression and peer competence. Although socially active and accepted by peers, they were, compared with other children, less cooperative with adults, less prosocial with peers, more impulsive, less achievement oriented, less purposive, and less happy (mean η2 =.52). Parenting, especially observed impatience, threats, and use of force when children were emotionally distressed, showed important differences across groups.

The individual contributions of three executive function components to preschool social competence

AbstractThe present study explored the role of three components of executive function (EF)—response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility—in preschool children's social competence. Each component was expected to contribute uniquely to children's abilities to resolve peer conflict in a competent manner, namely, the inhibition of incompetent social responses (response inhibition), maintenance of social goals (working memory), and attentional shift between complex social rules and potential response options (cognitive flexibility). Seventy‐two 4‐to 5‐year‐old children were administered measures for each of the EF components and for peer conflict social competence. Positive associations were found between all three EF components and the social competence task, but working memory was the most highly associated with choosing competent responses to peer conflict. In addition, EF accounted for age‐related increases in competent responding. The results highlight the importance of representational abilities in the development of social competence during the preschool period.Highlights This study examined the normative developmental associations between three components of executive function and social competence in preschool. Executive function, particularly working memory, predicted age‐related changes on a peer conflict task between 4 and 5 years of age. The results suggest that the representational abilities associated with working memory may be important in the development of social competence.

Scripted knowledge about attachment and social competence in preschoolers: overview

ABSTRACTThe papers in this special issue of Attachment & Human Development address questions concerning relations between attachment representations and social competence during early childhood in samples from five different countries. All studies examined these questions using the concept of the “secure base script” that has been widely studied in samples of adults, adolescents, and school-age children. In all samples, the secure base script was scored from attachment-relevant narratives elicited from children in a doll-play task. Consistent with existing literatures, the secure base script score had positive and significant associations with adult ratings of child social competence, even in the presence of potential confounding covariates.

Warmth Parenting and the Social Competence of Preschoolers : Sequential Mediation Effects of Self-Esteem and Positive Peer Play Interaction

Warmth Parenting and the Social Competence of Preschoolers : Sequential Mediation Effects of Self-Esteem and Positive Peer Play Interaction

The Effect of Service-Learning on Trainee Play Therapists and Preschoolers in Connection with Curriculum

Objective Therapists’ professional development and improvement of preschoolers’ social competence are of critical need, as these are associated with adaptability and future value. A structured educational strategy, to enhance trainee play therapists’ academic achievement, provides a safer environment for them to experience what it is like to do fieldwork. Moreover, service receivers have more confidence when community-based needs provided by offering psychological support at an institutional level. As confidence and therapeutic effectiveness are highly correlated, offering psychological support at an institutional level is a reasonable approach. In that, respect both are mutual and reciprocal. Therefore, to activate Service-Learning, this study aims to (1) explore the effect of Service-Learning on the professional development of trainee play therapists, and (2) explore the effect of Service-Learning on the social competence of preschoolers. Methods Service-Learning pedagogy in the curriculum—Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) and Play therapy internship class— was applied to investigate the effectiveness of Service-Learning. In addition, the developmental level of trainee play therapists (service provider) and the social competence of preschoolers (service receiver) were measured and analyzed. Results Service-Learning pedagogy had a significant effect on both trainee play therapists’ development and preschoolers’ social competence. Conclusion This study found that Service-Learning is a pedagogical method that combines academic learning objectives with community-based needs and priorities, providing an opportunity for higher education institutions to meet these community needs. Keywords: Service-Learning, trainee play therapist, preschooler, community

Cardiac vagal regulation in infancy predicts executive function and social competence in preschool: Indirect effects through language.

Parasympathetic nervous system functioning in infancy may serve a foundational role in the development of cognitive and socioemotional skills (Calkins, 2007). In this study (N=297), we investigated the potential indirect effects of cardiac vagal regulation in infancy on children's executive functioning and social competence in preschool via expressive and receptive language in toddlerhood. Vagal regulation was assessed at 10months during two attention conditions (social, nonsocial) via task-related changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). A path analysis revealed that decreased RSA from baseline in the nonsocial condition and increased RSA in the social condition were related to larger vocabularies in toddlerhood. Additionally, children's vocabulary sizes were positively related to their executive function and social competence in preschool. Indirect effects from vagal regulation in both contexts to both 4-year outcomes were significant, suggesting that early advances in language may represent a mechanism through which biological functioning in infancy impacts social and cognitive functioning in childhood.

The Lamer Social Competence in Preschool (LSCIP) Scale: Structural Validity in a Large Norwegian Community Sample

ABSTRACTThere is an increasing emphasis on the importance of social competence for children's development, well-being, and learning. Thus age- and context-appropriate measures are needed. This study addresses the structural validity of the Lamer Social Competence in Preschool (LSCIP) scale, developed to accommodate the Nordic model of early childhood pedagogy. The authors specify the theoretical basis for a bi-factor model of social competence. This model is tested in a large (n = 1157), community based sample of Norwegian children, including teacher- (at age 2, 3, and 4), mother- (at age 4), and father- (at age 3) reports. A model with a main factor for social competence, and three bi-factors fit data across ages and reporters, with factorial, but not strong, invariance over time.

Inter-relations of core language, pragmatic language, and social competence in preschoolers

Language skills provide preschoolers with the foundational skills needed to socially interact, but little is known about the relationship between specific language skills and broad constructs of social competence. Sixteen preschoolers between 3-5 years with varying language abilities were recruited. Descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between language and social competence. The main finding of this study showed that early literacy skills and word knowledge and retrieval were significantly correlated with Social Independence and Social Interaction respectively. These findings support the notion that the content of preschoolers’ conversations rather than the accuracy of their speech or syntax is associated with success in social interaction and social independence.

Mediating Effect of Child-Teacher Relationships on the Relationship of Preschooler’s Emotional Intelligence and Social Competence

This study examined the effect of preschooler`s emotional intelligence, child-teacher relationships (intimacy, conflict and dependency) on children`s social competence. A sample of 269 children (142 boys and 127 girls) aged 3 to 6 in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do participated in the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Child-Teacher Relationships Scale and Social Competence Scale by teachers. Descriptive statistics, t -test, Pearson`s correlation analysis and regression analysis analyzed data via SPSS ver. 20.0. This study followed a mediated effect model. The results showed that: (1) The emotional intelligence of girls was significantly higher than boys. However, the child-teacher relationship and children`s social competence had no significant difference relationship to gender. (2) There was a mediating effect of child-teacher relationships between preschooler`s emotional intelligence and social competence. The effect of emotional intelligence on social competence was partially mediated by intimate relationship, conflict relationship and dependency relationship. The degree of mediating effect was investigated in regards to conflict relationship, dependency relationship and intimate relationship. This study demonstrated that child-teacher relationships mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and social competence of preschoolers.

Application of temperament combined with social competence in preschoolers with asthma in home care

Objective To explore the application effect of home care on the basis of temperament combined with social competence in preschool children with bronchial asthma. Methods A total of 100 preschool children outpatients with bronchial asthma who came to our hospital from January 1 to February 28, 2013 were selected with the method of convenience sampling and were randomly divided into observed group and control group with 50 cases in each group. Cases of the observed group were divided into ordinary, middle, and strengthen subgroups according to temperament and social competence.The control group and the ordinary subgroup received routine care interventions, and the other subgroups were given corresponding enhanced care measures. The attack rate of asthma, medical care, quality of life and lung function during one year follow-up were observed and compared between the two groups. Results Within the first six months of follow-up, patients in observed group got better control in acute attacks than the control group [(2.3±0.4) times vs. (3.4±0.3) times,χ2=5.710,P<0.05)]. The percentage of forced expiratory volume in the first second and Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire scores in observed group were significantly higher than the control group one years later [(86.9±4.6)% vs. (85.5±3.8)% and (90.1±7.5) vs. (76.5±8.0), P<0.05]. Conclusions The application of temperament type combined with social competence showed a good practical value in home care for asthma preschoolers. Key words: Asthma; Temperament; Child, preschool; Home care; Social competence

Language impairment and early social competence in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders: a comparison of DSM-5 profiles.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and structural language impairment (LI) may be at risk of more adverse social-developmental outcomes. We examined trajectories of early social competence (using the Vineland-II) in 330 children aged 2-4 years recently diagnosed with ASD, and compared 3 subgroups classified by: language impairment (ASD/LI); intellectual disability (ASD/ID) and ASD without LI or ID (ASD/alone). Children with ASD/LI were significantly more socially impaired at baseline than the ASD/alone subgroup, and less impaired than those with ASD/ID. Growth in social competence was significantly slower for the ASD/ID group. Many preschool-aged children with ASD/LI at time of diagnosis resembled "late talkers" who appeared to catch up linguistically. Children with ASD/ID were more severely impaired and continued to lag further behind.

Building Social Competence in Preschool: The Effects of a Social Skills Intervention Targeting Children Enrolled in Head Start

The current study evaluated the peer-to-peer interactions of at-risk children enrolled in Head Start who participated in a social pragmatic intervention targeting skills such as initiations, responses, name use, proximity, and turn-taking skills. Eight Head Start classroom teams received two workshops and two coaching sessions and were taught to use an antecedent-behavior-consequence problem-solving process to develop and implement action plans addressing prevent-teach-respond strategies to improve targeted routines. Nine out of 10 children showed increases in average percentage of interactive play behavior from baseline to intervention. Nine of the 10 children targeted for participation in the social pragmatic intervention showed decreases in average noninteractive play from baseline. Social validity ratings obtained from participants indicated that training materials and procedures were feasible for use in Head Start classrooms and intervention had positive effects on study participants.

Multimodal Analysis of Estimated and Observed Social Competence in Preschoolers With/Without Behavior Problems

Social skills compete with behavior problems, and the combination of these aspects may cause differences in social competence. This study was aimed at assessing the differences and similarities in the social competence of 26 preschoolers resulting from: (1) groups which they belonged to, being one with social skills and three with behavior problems (internalizing, externalizing and mixed); (2) types of assessment, considering the estimates of mothers and teachers, as well as direct observation in a structured situation; (3) structured situations as demands for five categories of social skills. Children’s performance in each situation was assessed by judges and estimated by mothers and teachers. There was a similarity in the social competence estimated by mothers, teachers and in the performance observed. Only the teachers distinguished the groups (higher social competence in the group with social skills and lower in the internalizing and mixed groups). Assertiveness demands differentiated the groups. The methodological aspects were discussed, as well as the clinical and educational potential of the structured situations to promote social skills.

Help Me Play! Parental Behaviors, Child Temperament, and Preschool Peer Play

Social competence is a critical developmental milestone for preschoolers. Because play is the primary activity through which preschoolers interact socially with peers, it serves as an excellent indicator of social competence. The development of social competence in preschoolers is complex and multifaceted. In order to capture this complexity, we used Belsky’s differential susceptibility hypothesis as a framework for examining the contributions of child temperament and parenting styles in the prediction of peer interactive play behaviors. Using parent ratings of a sample of 44 preschool-age children, we hypothesized that child temperament (specifically, reactivity and regulation) acts as a susceptibility factor in the relationship between parenting styles (authoritarian and authoritative) and child peer play behaviors (disruptive and interactive). Our findings indicated that child reactivity moderated the relationship between authoritarian parenting style and both play outcomes, suggesting that reactivity serves as a potential susceptibility factor. More specifically, children with high reactivity who had more authoritarian parents demonstrated higher levels of disruptive play and lower levels of interactive play. Regulation did not act as a susceptibility factor in our sample. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for practice and in terms of an approach that considers temperament (specifically reactivity) and parenting behaviors in preschool assessment and intervention efforts. Additionally, we discuss how our findings partially support the differential susceptibility hypothesis.