Research Lab for Resilience and Early Childhood Development Relationships Between Teachers and Economically Disadvantaged Preschoolers Predict Socioemotional Competence as Demonstrated by Peer Play Behaviors Joyce Lee, MSW, Melanie Yu, Szu-Fu Chao, Tzu-Chien Chuang, and Geraldine V. Oades-Sese, Ph.D. Institute for the Study of Child Development, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School RLRECD Research Lab for Resilience and Early Childhood Development ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine important adult-child relationships and how they impact preschool children’s socioemotional competence as demonstrated by their individual peer play behaviors in the classroom. Participants included 599 economically-disadvantaged children and 157 teachers from Head Start and State Preschools in California. Findings indicated that age, gender, and teacher-child relationships significantly predict preschool children’s interactive play behaviors. Furthermore, age and teacher-child relationships significantly predicted disruptive play behaviors, whereas only teacher-child relationships predicted disconnected play behaviors. Parent-child attachment did not contribute to socialemotional competence. Overall, findings suggest that teacher-child relationships contribute to preschool children’s socioemotional competence with their peers. INTRODUCTION Early socioemotional competence is a critical protective factor fundamental to young children’s development and well-being. Previous research argue that teacher-child relationships contribute to children’s early school adjustment and behavioral development (Birch & Ladd, 1998; Howes, 2000) and that play is predictive of their socioemotional competence (Goelman & Jacobs, 1994; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997) . In particular, children whose teachers report close teacher-child relationships are most likely to demonstrate positive play behaviors. Close teacher-child relationships may be especially critical for protecting economically disadvantaged children from poverty-related risk factors by fostering socioemotional skills in the classroom. METHOD Participants: Participants included 599 economically-disadvantaged preschool children (54% girls) and their parents, as well as 157 teachers from Head Start and State Preschools in Southern California. The children’s mean age was 52 months (SD=6.4). The majority of children and parents were Hispanic/Latino (70%) followed by African American (9%), Caucasian (8.5%), and Asian (7%). Similarly, the majority of teachers (98.1% females) were Hispanic (57%), and 12% identified as White, 10% as Asian, and 5% African American. Measures: Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001) Parent Relationship Questionnaire (PRQ; Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2006) Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS; McWayne, Sekino, Hampton, & Fantuzzo, 2002) Statistical Analyses: Hierarchical linear regression analyses CONCLUSIONS Teacher-child relationships predicted all three types of individual play behaviors in preschool children. Parent-child relationships and ethnicity did not predict preschool children’s socioemotional competence with peers. Preschool girls older in age with low conflict and high closeness with teachers predicted children's socioemotional competence with peers. Overall, findings demonstrated that preschool children’s interactions with teachers are predictive of their socioemotional competence demonstrated by their play behaviors at school. Teacher-child relationships may be especially important for economically disadvantaged children who are exposed to multiple poverty-related risk factors. Teachers can significantly contribute to their overall development and well-being. RESULTS Age, gender, and teacher-child closeness and conflict predicted preschool children’s interactive play behaviors. Age and teacher-child closeness and conflict predicted preschool children’s disruptive play behaviors. Only teacher-child closeness and conflict predicted preschool children’s disconnected play behaviors. Parent-child attachment did not contribute to children’s socioemotional competence.