Bidirectional Associations Between Teacher–Child Relationship Quality and Chinese American Immigrant Children’s Behavior Problems

Abstract

The goal of the study was to test the bidirectional associations between teacher-child relationship quality and behavior problems in an elementary school age sample of Chinese American immigrant children. A socioeconomically diverse sample (N = 258) of first- and second-generation Chinese American children (M ages = 7.4 and 9.2 years at Wave 1 and Wave 2, respectively; 48% girls) was recruited from schools and communities and followed for 1 to 2 years. Two waves of data on dimensions of teacher-child relationship quality (i.e., warmth, closeness, and conflict) and children's externalizing and internalizing problems were collected through parents', teachers', and children's report. Path analyses were conducted to test the bidirectional associations between teacher-child relationship quality and behavior problems, controlling for prior levels, child demographic characteristics, and teacher ethnicity. Transactional associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's behavior problems were found for externalizing problems. That is, teacher-rated externalizing problems negatively predicted child-rated closeness, and teacher-rated conflict positively predicted parent-rated externalizing problems. On the other hand, teacher-child relationship quality did not predict subsequent internalizing problems. However, parent-rated internalizing problems negatively predicted teacher-rated warmth, and teacher-rated internalizing problems negatively predicted teacher-rated conflict. Using a multiple informant approach and a diverse sample of Chinese American immigrant children, this study extends our knowledge of the reciprocal associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's behavior problems. Based on the results of this study, the authors provide recommendations for educators and future research with this understudied population.

Cross-Lagged Associations Between Problem Behaviors and Teacher-Student Relationships in Early Adolescence

“…A recent study by De Laet et al (2016) reported that adolescents who display more rule-breaking behavior experienced increased dissatisfaction with their teachers, which, in turn, further increased their adjustment problems. Ly and Zhou (2016) found that teacher-rated conflict positively predicted parent-rated externalizing problems in a sample of Chinese American immigrant children.…”

“…Roorda et al (2014) found that teacherperceived conflict had reciprocal associations with preschool boys' internalizing problems at an early phase of the school year but not during the second half of the school year. A recent study by Ly and Zhou (2016) showed among a sample of Chinese American immigrant elementary school children that those with higher levels of teacher-rated internalizing problems scored lower on teacher-rated conflict later on, whereas Zhang and Sun (2011) demonstrated a significant path from internalizing behavior to teacher-perceived conflict in Chinese preschoolers. Ly and Zhou (2016) found that the quality of the teacher-student relationship did not predict children's internalizing problems over time.…”

“…A recent study by Ly and Zhou (2016) showed among a sample of Chinese American immigrant elementary school children that those with higher levels of teacher-rated internalizing problems scored lower on teacher-rated conflict later on, whereas Zhang and Sun (2011) demonstrated a significant path from internalizing behavior to teacher-perceived conflict in Chinese preschoolers. Ly and Zhou (2016) found that the quality of the teacher-student relationship did not predict children's internalizing problems over time. However, children with higher parent-rated internalizing problems had lower subsequent teacher-perceived closeness.…”

“…Skalická, Belsky et al (2015), however, demonstrated in a Norwegian sample that the effects of teacher-perceived closeness on later externalizing problems were moderated by group size: Greater closeness in preschool predicted reduced externalizing problems in the first grade only for children in small groups. Ly and Zhou (2016) showed in a sample of Chinese American immigrant children that teacher-rated externalizing problems negatively predicted child-rated closeness.…”

Affective Teacher—Student Relationships and Students' Externalizing Behavior Problems: A Meta-Analysis

“…Moreover, several studies have found that different raters might account for the lack of coherence in research on the link between affective TSRs and students' EBPs. For example, some previous studies have relied on EBPs rated by students, which were only weakly related to positive indicators of affective TSRs (Troop-Gordon and Kopp, 2011; Li et al, 2012) while other studies found that student EBPs rated by teachers were moderately related to both positive indicators of affective TSRs (Colwell and Lindsey, 2003; Shin and Kim, 2008) and negative indicators of affective TSRs (White and Renk, 2012; Ly, 2013; Skalická et al, 2015). In contrast, other researchers found that student EBPs rated by teachers were strongly related to negative indicators of affective TSRs (Palermo et al, 2007; Fowler et al, 2008; Stipek and Miles, 2008).…”