Pretend and Physical Play: Links to Preschoolers’ Affective Social Competence

This study investigated different forms of pretend and physical play as predictors of preschool children’s affective social competence (ASC). Data were collected from 122 preschool children (57 boys, 65 girls; 86 European American, 9 African American, 17 Hispanic, and 10 other ethnicity) over a 2-year period. Children participated in emotion knowledge interviews, mothers rated children’s emotion regulation skill, and observations were conducted of children’s emotional expressiveness with peers in both Years 1 and 2. Naturalistic observations of children’s peer play behavior were conducted to assess the proportion of time children spend in pretend and physical play in Year 1. Analyses revealed that sociodramatic play predicted children’s emotional expressiveness, emotion knowledge, and emotion regulation 1 year later, after controlling for Year 1 ASC skills. Rough-and-tumble play predicted children’s emotional expressiveness and emotion regulation 1 year later, whereas exercise play predicted only emotion regulation. Some associations between sociodramatic play and rough-and-tumble play and children’s ASC were moderated by gender

Emerging Adulthood: Theory, Assessment and Application

The later attainment of traditional adult roles by today’s youth compared to their counterparts of earlier decades has garnered considerable scholarly and public attention. This article describes a recent concept related to the transition to adulthood, known as emerging adulthood, including a discussion of relevant theory and historical background research. We then introduce a measurement instrument, the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA), which assesses identification with transition-to-adulthood themes. Results of initial scale-development studies were largely supportive of the measure’s reliability and validity. Respondents in their 20s identified with relevant themes to a greater extent than did their younger and older counterparts. Marital status differences on the IDEA emerged, but college and non-college respondents were largely similar. Finally, we provide suggestions for how parent educators can make use of the IDEA instrument in advising parents and their emerging adult children

Emerging Adulthood: Theory, Assessment and Application

The later attainment of traditional adult roles by today’s youth compared to their counterparts of earlier decades has garnered considerable scholarly and public attention. This article describes a recent concept related to the transition to adulthood, known as emerging adulthood, including a discussion of relevant theory and historical background research. We then introduce a measurement instrument, the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA), which assesses identification with transition-to-adulthood themes. Results of initial scale-development studies were largely supportive of the measure’s reliability and validity. Respondents in their 20s identified with relevant themes to a greater extent than did their younger and older counterparts. Marital status differences on the IDEA emerged, but college and non-college respondents were largely similar. Finally, we provide suggestions for how parent educators can make use of the IDEA instrument in advising parents and their emerging adult children

Cumulative Risk and Continuity in Nonparental Care from Infancy to Early Adolescence

Variations in amounts of nonparental care across infancy, preschool, early elementary school, and early adolescence were examined in a longitudinal sample (N = 438). Of interest was (a) continuity in use of the different arrangements, (b) whether the arrangements were additively and cumulatively associated with children’s externalizing behavior problems, and (c) whether predictive relations were accounted for by socialecological (socioeconomic status, mothers’ employment status, marital status) and social-experiential (parenting quality, exposure to aggressive peers) factors. Correlations among overall amounts of care provided little evidence of cross-time continuity. Consistent with the cumulative risk perspective, Grade 1 self-care and Grade 6 unsupervised peer contact incrementally predicted Grade 6 externalizing problems. Most of the predictive associations were accounted for by family background and social relationship factors

Mother-Child Dyadic Synchrony in European American and African American Families during Early Adolescence: Relations with Self-Esteem and Prosocial Behavior

Mother-child relationships characterized by dyadic synchrony, a mutually responsive and interconnected interaction style, have been consistently linked to children’s psychosocial adjustment in early childhood, but it is unclear whether such interaction patterns remain conducive to positive outcomes in early adolescence. The aim of the present investigation was to examine mother-child synchrony and its link to early adolescents’ self-esteem and prosocial behavior. Data were collected from 268 early adolescents and their mothers from both European American and African American families. Four components of dyadic synchrony were assessed during a structured mother-child interaction session. In addition, assessments of early adolescents’ self-esteem and prosocial behavior were conducted approximately one year later. Results indicated that mother-child shared positive affect and conversational equality were highly intercorrelated components of dyadic synchrony. Moreover, early adolescents from dyads with high levels of dyadic synchrony and conversational equality had higher selfesteem. Early adolescents from dyads with high levels of shared positive affect were more prosocial with peers. Although the patterns of association were similar for African American and European American preadolescents, ethnicity did interact with certain components of synchrony in predicting early adolescents’ self-esteem and prosocial behavior