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Young children's social information processing: family antecedents and behavioral correlates

Kevin C Runions1, Daniel P Keating

  • 1Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. k.runions@ecu.edu.au

Developmental Psychology
|July 4, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Early social information processing (SIP) in preschoolers did not strongly predict later externalizing behaviors when accounting for family risks. Maternal education and attitudes were more influential factors.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Externalizing problems in children are a significant concern.
  • Familial risk markers are known predictors of child behavior.
  • The role of early social information processing (SIP) in predicting these problems, independent of family risk, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine if early social information processing (SIP) predicts externalizing problems beyond familial risk.
  • To identify predictors of "Pollyanna preschooler" status (benign attributions and few externalizing problems).

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the U.S. National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N=1,364).
  • Assessed preschool and 1st-grade social information processing (SIP) and first-grade externalizing behaviors.
  • Controlled for gender, cognitive functioning, maternal education, and authoritarian attitudes.

Main Results:

  • Maternal education and authoritarian attitudes predicted "Pollyanna preschooler" status and later SIP.
  • Social information processing (SIP) variables showed small effect sizes in predicting externalizing problems.
  • A subgroup of low-risk children with benign preschool attributions had few externalizing problems in 1st grade.

Conclusions:

  • While familial factors like maternal education and attitudes are key predictors of child SIP and behavior, the direct predictive power of early SIP on externalizing problems appears limited.
  • Further research is needed to explore moderators and refine measurement approaches for social information processing.

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