Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T03:52:56.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Family Functioning and Socioaffective Competencies of Children in the Beginning of Schooling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Patricia Simone Hammes ,
Maria Aparecida Crepaldi  and
Marc Bigras
Patricia Simone Hammes
Affiliation:
Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada)
Maria Aparecida Crepaldi
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Brazil)
Marc Bigras*
Affiliation:
Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada)
*
Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Marc Bigras. Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888 succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3P8 (Canada). E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The aim of this short term longitudinal study, based on the system theory, was to test the association between different aspects of family functioning of preschoolers and their socioaffective competencies at the end of the first grade. The total sample included 278 children (137 boys and 141 girls) and their families. The analysis of variance results regarding the aspects of family cohesion and harmony showed that preschoolers from more cohesive families display more social skills, while those from more conflicting families display more externalizing behavior problems (aggression and irritability). With respect to the family's ability to resolve problems, it was observed that, especially for middle and upper class families, this aspect is associated with better social skills and fewer internalized behavior problems. Overall, results of the present study suggest that the family functioning at early stage might influence children's abilities to regulate their emotions and to establish/maintain important relationships with peers and teachers in their early school years.

El objetivo de este estudio longitudinal a corto plazo, basado en la teoría de sistemas, era poner a prueba la relación entre los diferentes aspectos del funcionamiento familiar de los niños en edad preescolar y sus competencias socioafectivas al final del primer curso de educación infantil. La muestra total se compone de 278 niños (137 niños y 141 niñas) y sus familias. Los resultados del análisis de la variación con respecto a los aspectos de la cohesión y la armonía familiar indican que los niños preescolares de familias más cohesionadas muestran más habilidades sociales, mientras que los de familias más conflictivas muestran mayor externalización de problemas de comportamiento (agresividad e irritabilidad). Con respecto a la capacidad de la familia para resolver los problemas, se observó que, sobre todo para las familias de clase media y alta, este aspecto se asocia con mejores habilidades sociales y menos problemas de comportamiento interiorizados. En general, los resultados del presente estudio sugieren que el funcionamiento de la familia en la etapa temprana pueden influir en la capacidad de los niños de regular sus emociones y de establecer/mantener relaciones importantes con compañeros y maestros en sus primeros años escolares.

Keywords

family functioningsocioaffective competencesbehavior problemsearly school adjustmentfuncionamiento de la familiacompetencias socioafectivasproblemas de conductaadaptación escolar temprana
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 124 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agostin, T. M., & Bain, S. K. (1997). Predicting early school success with developmental and social skills screeners. Psychology in the Schools, 34, 219–228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6807(199707)34:3<219::AID-PITS4>3.3.CO;2-X3.0.CO;2-J>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andolfi, M., Angelo, C., Menghi, P., & Nicolo, A. M. (1985). La forteresse familiale [The family fortress]. Paris, France: Dunod. (Orig. 1982)Google Scholar
Anthony, L. G., Anthony, B. J., Glanville, D. N., Naiman, D. Q., Waanders, C., & Shaffer, S. (2005). The relationships between parenting stress, parenting behaviour and preschoolers' social competence and behaviour problems in the classroom. Infant and Child Development, 14(2), 133–154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/icd.385CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beavers, W. B., & Hampson, R. B. (1990). Successful families: Assessment and intervention. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371–399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135233CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burchinal, M., Roberts, J. E., Zeisel, S. A., Hennon, E. A., & Hooper, S. (2006). Social risk and protective child, parenting, and child care factors in early elementary school years. Parenting: Science and Practice, 6, 79–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327922par0601_4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, C., Lee, S., & Stevenson, W. S. (1996). Long-term prediction of academic achievement of American, Chinese, and Japanese adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 750–759. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0022-0663.88.4.750CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, K. E., & Ladd, G. W. (2000). Connectedness and autonomy support in parent-child relationships: Links to children's socioemotional orientation and peer relationships. Developmental Psychology, 36, 485–498. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0012-1649.36.4.485CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collins, W. A., Maccoby, E. E., Steinberg, L., Hetherington, M. E., & Bornstein, M. H. (2000). The case for nature and nurture. American Psychologist, 55, 218–232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.2.218CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dirks, M. A., Treat, T. A., & Weersing, V. R. (2007). Integrating theoretical, measurement, and intervention models of youth social competence. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 327–347. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.11.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dobbs, J., Doctoroff, G. L., Fisher, P. H., & Arnold, D. H. (2006). The association between preschool children's socio-emotional functioning and their mathematical skills. Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 97–108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2005.12.008CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, G. J., Dowsett, C. J., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A. C., Klebanov, P., … Japel, C. (2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1428–1446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Entwisle, D. R., Alexander, K. L., & Olson, L. S. (2007). Early schooling: The handicap of being poor and male. Sociology of Education, 80, 114–138. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003804070708000202CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, G. W. (2004). The environment of childhood poverty. American Psychologist, 59, 77–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.2.77CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foster, M. A., Lambert, R., Abbott-Shim, M., McCarty, F., & Franze, S. (2005). A model of home learning environment and social risk factors in relation to children's emergent literacy and social outcomes. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 13–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2005.01.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardinal, E. C., & Marturano, E. M. (2007). Meninos e meninas na educaçño infantil: associaçño entre comportamento e desempenho [Boys and girls in kindergarten: association between behavior and achievement]. Psicologia em Estudo, 12, 541–551. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-73722007000300011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gadeyne, E., Ghesquiere, R., & Onghena, P. (2004). Longitudinal relations between parenting and child adjustment in young children. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 33, 347–358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3302_16CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gershoff, E. T. (2003). Low income and the development of America's kindergartners. New York, NY: Columbia University, National Center for Children in Poverty. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_533.pdfGoogle Scholar
Grant, K. E., Compas, B. E., Stuhlmacher, A., Thurm, A., McMahon, S., & Halpert, J. (2003). Stressors and child and adolescent psychopathology: Moving from markers to mechanisms of risk. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 447–466. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.3.447CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Graziano, P. A., Reavis, R. D., Keane, S. P., & Calkins, S. D. (2007). The role of emotion regulation in children's early academic success. Journal of School Psychology, 45, 3–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.09.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammarberg, A., & Hagekull, B. (2006). Changes in externalizing and internalizing behavior over a school year: Differences between 6-year-old boys and girls. Infant and Child Development, 15, 123–137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/icd.444CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoglund, W., & Leadbeater, B. (2004). The effects of family, school and classroom ecologies on changes in children's social competence and emotional and behavioral problems in first grade. Developmental Psychology, 40, 533–544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.4.533CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King, G., McDougall, J., DeWit, D., Hong, S., Miller, L., Offord, D., … LaPorta, J. (2005). Pathways to children's academic performance and prosocial behavior: roles of physical health status, environmental, family, and child factors. International Journal of Disability, Development & Education, 52, 313–344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10349120500348680CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladd, G. W., & Burgess, K. B. (1999). Charting the relationship trajectories of aggressive, withdrawn, and aggressive/withdrawn children during early grade school. Child Development, 70, 919–929. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00066CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LaFreniere, P. J., & Dumas, J. E. (1996). Social competence and behavior evaluation in children ages 3 to 6 years: The short form (SCBE-30). Psychological Assessment, 8, 369–377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.8.4.369CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaFreniere, P. J., Dumas, J. E., Capuano, F., & Dubeau, D. (1992). Development and validation of the preschool socioaffective profile. Psychological Assessment, 4, 442–450. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.4.4.442CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malaspina, D., & Rimm-Kaufman, S. E. (2008). Early predictors of school performance declines at school transition points. Research in Middle Level Education Online, 31. Retrieved from http://www.amle.org/Publications/RMLEOnline/Articles/Vol31No9/tabid/1693/Default.aspxGoogle Scholar
Malecki, C. K., & Elliott, S. N. (2002). Children's social behaviors as predictors of academic achievement: A longitudinal analysis. School Psychology Quarterly, 17, 1–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/scpq.17.1.1.19902CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLoyd, V.C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. American Psychologist, 53, 185–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.53.2.185CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ministère de l‘Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (2005). La réussite scolaire des garçons et des filles: L'influence du milieu socioéconomique [Academic success and the gender gap: the influence of the socioeconomic environment]. Québec, Canada: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/sections/publications/index.asp?page=etudesGoogle Scholar
Miles, S. B., & Stipek, D. (2006). Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations between social behavior and literacy achievement in a sample of low-income elementary school children. Child Development, 77, 103–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00859.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minuchin, S. (1998). Familles en thérapie [Families in therapy]. Toulouse, France: Érès. (Orig. 1974).Google Scholar
Morrison, E. F., Rimm-Kauffman, S., & Pianta, R. C. (2003). A longitudinal study of mother-child interactions at school entry and social and academic outcomes in middle school. Journal of School Psychology, 41(3), 185–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4405(03)00044-XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Early Child Care Research Network (2003). Social functioning in first grade: Associations with earlier home and child care predictors and with current classroom experiences. Child Development, 74, 1639–1662. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-8624.2003.00629.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Early Child Care Research Network (2004). Does class size in first grade relate to children's academic and social performance or observed classroom processes? Developmental Psychology, 40(5), 651–664. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.40.5.651CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Early Child Care Research Network (2005). Duration and developmental timing of poverty and children's cognitive and social development from birth through third grade. Child Development, 76(4), 795–810. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00878.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orme, J. G., & Buehler, C. (2001). Foster family characteristics and behavioral and emotional problems of foster children: A narrative review. Family Relations, 50, 3–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2001.00003.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ou, S., & Reynolds, A. J. (2008). Predictors of educational attainment in the Chicago longitudinal study. School Psychology Quarterly, 23(2), 199–229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1045-3830.23.2.199CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perrenoud, Ph. (2002, November). Réussir à l'école: tout le curriculum, rien que le curriculum [Succeed in school: the entire curriculum, nothing but the curriculum]. Paper presented at the 10th Conference of the “Association des cadres scolaires du Québec” (ACSQ) [Quebec association of school administrators]. Retrieved from: http://www.unige.ch/fapse/SSE/teachers/perrenoud/php_main/php_2002/2002_33.htmlGoogle Scholar
Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., & Dodge, K. A. (1997). Supportive parenting, ecological context, and children's adjustment: A seven-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 68, 908–923. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1132041Google Scholar
Raver, C. C. (2004). Placing emotional self-regulation in sociocultural and socioeconomic contexts. Child Development, 75, 346–353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00676.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raver, C. C., & Ziegler, E. F. (1997). Social competence: An untapped dimension in evaluating Head starts success. Early childhood research quarterly, 12, 363–385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(97)90017-XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schickedanz, J. A. (1995). Family socialization and academic achievement. Journal of Education, 177(1), 17–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, E. P., Prinz, R. J., Dumas, J. E., & Laughlin, J. (2001). Latent models of family processes in African American families: Relationships to child competence, achievement, and problem behavior. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 967–980. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00967.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
SPSS Inc. (2008). SPSS Statistics, V17.0. Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Yeung, W. J., Linver, M., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002). How money matters for young children's development: Parental investment and family processes. Child Development, 73, 1861–1879. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00511CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed