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Temperamental Anger and Positive Reactivity and the Development of Social Skills: Implications for Academic
Jessica M Dollar1, Nicole B Perry2, Susan D Calkins1
1The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Insights
Temperamental anger in toddlers can negatively impact social skills, leading to poorer academic competence in preadolescence. Early social skills interventions may help mitigate these challenges.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Temperament, including anger and positive reactivity, is a foundational aspect of early childhood behavior.
- Social skills development is crucial for academic success and navigating school environments.
- Understanding the pathways from early temperament to later academic competence is vital for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if social skills mediate the relationship between toddler temperamental anger and positive reactivity and preadolescent academic competence.
- To examine the longitudinal associations between early temperament, social skills development, and school-related outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study with 406 children.
- Assessed temperamental anger and positive reactivity at age 2.
- Measured social skills at age 7 and academic competence (teacher-reported) and school problems (child and teacher-reported) at age 10.
Main Results:
- Temperamental anger at age 2 was negatively associated with social skills at age 7.
- Social skills at age 7 were negatively associated with academic competence and positively associated with school problems at age 10.
- Social skills at age 7 significantly mediated the association between temperamental anger at age 2 and academic competence and school problems at age 10.
- Temperamental positive reactivity showed no significant association with social skills or academic competence.
Conclusions:
- Social skills development in childhood serves as a key mechanism linking early temperamental anger to later academic challenges.
- Early intervention focusing on social skills for toddlers with high anger reactivity may improve social interactions and reduce academic difficulties.
- Temperamental positive reactivity does not appear to influence social skills or academic competence through the studied pathways.
Research Findings:
This study examines whether the development of social skills during childhood serves as a mechanism through which temperamental anger and positive reactivity in toddlerhood influences children's academic competence during preadolescence (N = 406). Temperamental anger at age 2 was negatively associated with children's social skills at age 7; in turn, children's social skills at age 7 were negatively associated with teacher report of academic competence and child and teacher report of school problems at age 10. All three indirect effects were significant suggesting that children's social skills at age 7 is one mechanism through which temperamental anger at age 2 is associated with age 10 child- and teacher-reported school problems. Temperamental positive reactivity was not associated with children's social skills or academic competence.
Practice Or Policy:
Results provide support for early entry points to teach toddlers, especially those high in anger reactivity, the skills to engage in socially appropriate interactions with classmates and teachers, which may lessen subsequent academic challenges.
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