Temperament in early childhood and peer interactions in third grade: The role of teacher–child relationships in early elementary grades

Abstract

Children's interactions with peers in early childhood have been consistently linked to their academic and social outcomes. Although both child and classroom characteristics have been implicated as contributors to children's success, there has been scant research linking child temperament, teacher-child relationship quality, and peer interactions in the same study. The purpose of this study is to examine children's early temperament, rated at preschool age, as a predictor of interactions with peers (i.e., aggression, relational aggression, victimization, and prosociality) in third grade while considering teacher-child relationship quality in kindergarten through second grades as a moderator and mediator of this association. The sample (N=1364) was drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Results from structural equation models indicated that teacher-child conflict in early elementary grades mediated links between children's temperament and later peer interactions. Findings underscore the importance of considering children's temperament traits and teacher-child relationship quality when examining the mechanisms of the development of peer interactions.

Temperament and Preschool Children’s Peer Interactions

“…This is consistent with the notion of the teacher as creator of the social milieu of the classroom (wielding an "invisible hand"; Farmer, McAuliffe Lines, & Hamm, 2011), thus indirectly shaping the nature of interactions between children (Luckner & Pianta, 2011). Indeed, there is evidence that teachers' perceptions of children are related to children's interactions with peers (e.g., J. N. Hughes & Chen, 2011;Mercer & DeRosier, 2008;Rudasill et al, 2013). For example, Mercer and DeRosier (2008) found that teacher preference and peer rejection were bidirectionally associated across third and fourth grades.…”

Affective Teacher—Student Relationships and Students' Externalizing Behavior Problems: A Meta-Analysis

“…For example, previous studies indicated that positive indicators for affective TSRs and students' EBPs varied among students in kindergarten lower primary grades (LPG), and higher primary grades (Silver et al, 2005; HPG, Kuhns, 2008; Stewart and Suldo, 2011). In contrast negative indicators of affective TSRs and students' EBPs among kindergarten, LPG, and HPG students all showed similar phenomenon (Ezzell et al, 2000; Pianta and Stuhlman, 2004; Vick, 2008; Troop-Gordon and Kopp, 2011; Rudasill et al, 2013). Based on these findings, we expect age to moderate the link between affective TSRs and students' EBPs.…”

Examining the role of teacher presence and scaffolding in preschoolers’ peer interactions

“…Teachers' positive relationships with children (e.g. close, sensitive, supportive) have been associated with children's positive peer interactions (Ladd 2005;Rudasill et al 2013). Considering the importance of teachers' scaffolding for children's peer interactions, in this study, we investigated how teachers' presence and social scaffolding were related to children's peer interactions in various classroom contexts.…”