The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal, bidirectional relationship between language skills and behavior problems in a sample of 194 preschool children enrolled in Head Start programs. Children were individually assessed using the "Preschool Language Scale-5," and teachers completed the "Child Behavior…

This longitudinal study examined the moderating roles of language use and gender in the relations between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing behaviour problems in 242 preschool children (48% girls) enrolled in Head Start centres. Teachers and parents completed the "Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1 1/2-5." Mothers…

The present study examined the longitudinal relations between psychopathology and social competence in a sample of 115 Chinese children during the transition to preschool initiated in their third year of life. Social competence was assessed by maternal reports at three months after preschool entry (T1) and at the end of the first (T2) and second…

Research Findings: Based on a short-term longitudinal sample of Chinese children, the present study examined the role of symptoms of anxiety and social withdrawal in dependency on teachers during the transition to nursery care. Children's dependency on their teachers was assessed first at 3 months after nursery entry (Time 1) and then at the end…

Research suggests that the relation between student-teacher conflict and children's externalizing behavior might be reciprocal, and possibly also between student-teacher conflict and children's social skills. Because children with externalizing behavior also tend to display low levels of social skills, we do not know if one or both of these…

This article examines associations between observed quality in preschool center classrooms for approximately 6,250 three- to five-year-olds and their school readiness skills at kindergarten entry. Secondary analyses were conducted using data from four large-scale studies to estimate the effects of preschool center quality and interactions between…

Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed to compare vocabulary size, lexical composition, and late talking in large samples of Korean and U.S. children ages 18-35 months. Method: Data for 2,191 Korean children (211 children recruited "offline" through preschools, and 1,980 recruited "online" via the Internet) and 274 U.S.…

Research Findings: In early childhood education, the social ecology of the child is considered critical for healthy behavioral development. There is, however, relatively little information based on directly observing what children do that describes the moment-by-moment (i.e., sequential) relation between physical aggression and peer rejection acts…

A number of studies, both small scale and of nationally-representative student samples, have reported substantial associations between school entry math ability and later elementary school achievement. However, questions remain regarding the persistence of the association between early growth in math ability and later math achievement due to the…

The aim of this paper is to address two research questions related to the policy goal of having all children ready to learn at kindergarten entry. First, to what extent are children's socioemotional skills and behavior higher when they experience higher quality preschools? Second, are the effects of preschool center quality on these school…

In the 1998 reauthorization of Head Start, Congress mandated that the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) determine, on a national level, the impact of Head Start on the children it serves. As noted by the Advisory Committee on Head Start Research, this legislative mandate required that the impact study address two main research…

Background: Children's early problem behavior that manifests in multiple contexts is often more serious and stable. The concurrent and predictive validity of ratings of externalizing and internalizing by four informants was examined at preschool and early school age in an at-risk sample. Methods: Two hundred forty children were assessed by mothers…