Gendered Pathways to Socioemotional Competencies in Very Young Children

Abstract

Parent-child and teacher-child relationships are important correlates of children’s socioemotional competencies. However, less is known about whether these relationship qualities play a role in shaping the early development of socioemotional competencies in very young children attending childcare group settings. The current study aims to address this gap and to explore how child gender may moderate these associations. The participants included 395 children (203 girls; Mage = 21.18 months, SD = 10.26 months) enrolled in childcare centres, along with their parents and teachers. Parents reported on children’s socioemotional competencies as well as their relationship quality with children, and teachers reported on their relationship quality with children. Multiple group structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the results. The findings showed that both parent-child and teacher-child closeness were positively associated with children’s social competence, whereas teacher-child closeness was negatively associated with children’s anxiety behaviour. Furthermore, gender differences were observed in these associations. Teacher-child closeness was a significant predictor of social competence exclusively among girls, while parent-child closeness was a significant predictor of anxiety behaviours solely among boys. Findings suggested that parents and teachers may consider implementing tailored strategies when interacting with boys and girls who experience socioemotional difficulties in group settings in the early years.