Effects of economic and classroom ecology on changes in children's social competence and emotional and behavioral problems during first grade
Date
2001
Authors
Hoglund, Wendy Lorraine
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Abstract
The environments where children are developing, such as within their families, classrooms, and schools can powerfully influence their emerging social, emotional, and behavioral competencies. The current study investigated whether classroom concentrations of peer pro-social behaviors and victimization ( relational and physical) predicted changes in children's social competence and emotional and behavioral problems in first grade, beyond the effects of family-level economic disadvantage (number of household moves and maternal education) and school-level disadvantage (proportion of students on income assistance in the school) . Gender differences in social competence and emotional and behavioral problems were also examined. The findings indicate that children' s social competence, emotional problems, and behavioral problems are differentially influenced by specific features of their surrounding environments. The implications for future research and policy are discussed in relation to the findings.