Behavior problems in late childhood: the roles of early maternal attachment and teacher–child relationship trajectories

Abstract

The purposes of the current study were: (1) to examine the roles of early maternal attachment relationships and teacher-child relationships during childhood for externalizing and internalizing behaviors in late childhood, and (2) to investigate teacher-child relationships, as well as externalizing and internalizing behaviors in early childhood as possible mechanisms linking early maternal attachment relationships to behavior problems in late childhood. Longitudinal data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1140 mothers and children) were used in this investigation. There were three main findings. First, insecure/other maternal attachment relationships in early childhood (i.e., 36 months) were associated with externalizing and internalizing behaviors in late childhood (Grade 5). Second, elevated levels of teacher-child conflict during childhood were associated with externalizing behaviors in late childhood whereas low levels of teacher-child closeness were associated with internalizing behaviors. Third, the effects of insecure/other attachment on externalizing and internalizing behaviors in late childhood were mediated through teacher-child relationships during childhood and early externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Implications for attachment theory are discussed.

Child and Family Predictors of Child-Teacher Relationship Trajectories during the Transition from Preschool to School

“…These strategies, embedded within professional development interventions which have been shown to improve child-teacher interactions (such as "banking time" with children) [22], may help place children on more positive developmental trajectories. experience a positive relationship with a supportive adult, which is fundamentally important for children developmentally [3], [4], [9], [21], [25]. It is possible that having a positive relationship with an adult such as a teacher might help to reorganize relational models and promote better outcomes for children at-risk due to their experience of more hostile-ineffectiveparenting and less parental warmth [22].…”

“…Given the implications of poorer quality child-teacher relationship trajectories for children"s development [6], [25], helping children develop high quality relationships is vital.The findings of the present study help us to understand the characteristics of children who are more likely to experience cumulatively poorer quality teacher relationship trajectories. Given children with early mental health problems are especially at-risk, targeted interventions designed to foster positive interactions between teachers and these children may be worthwhile.…”

“…O"Connor [5] concluded that children's relationships with kindergarten teachers are extremely important because they appear to form a basis for future relationships. Other studies by this group using person-centered approaches capable of detecting subgroups of children that follow atypical trajectories did find that children with an early insecure-other (disorganized) maternal attachment were more likely than others to have a declining trajectory of child-teacher relationship quality between pre-kindergarten and third grade [10], and specifically were more likely to show stable low-closeness in their child-teacher relationships [25].…”

“…A small number of recent studies have produced emerging evidence that children"s cumulative experiences in their relationships with teachers over time have important implications for psychological and academic development [25]. Longitudinal studies of elementary school children have found that positive trajectories of child-teacher relationship quality (characterized by children experiencing high closeness and less conflict over time) are significantly associated with better academic outcomes [6], [10], and better mental health outcomes [18], [25], [26].…”

“…Longitudinal studies of elementary school children have found that positive trajectories of child-teacher relationship quality (characterized by children experiencing high closeness and less conflict over time) are significantly associated with better academic outcomes [6], [10], and better mental health outcomes [18], [25], [26]. For example, [25] used person-centered longitudinal analyses to identify different trajectory groups on teacher-child relational closeness and conflict in the first 5 years of school. They found that children in groups with elevated levels of conflict demonstrated higher levels of externalizing behaviors than those in the low-conflict group, and children in the stable-low-closeness group had higher levels of internalizing behaviors than those in the high-closeness group.…”