Longitudinal pathways of engagement, social interaction skills, hyperactivity and conduct problems in preschool childrenShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, ISSN 0036-5564, E-ISSN 1467-9450, Vol. 62, no 2, p. 170-184Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Preschool children's engagement/social interaction skills can be seen as aspects of positive functioning, and also act as protective aspects of functioning. On the other hand, hyperactivity/conduct problems are risk aspects that negatively affect children's everyday functioning. Few studies have investigated such orchestrated effects on mental health in young children over time. The aims of the study are first, to identify homogeneous groups of children having similar pathways in mental health between three time points. Second, to examine how children move between time points in relation to risk and protective factors. Alongitudinal study over 3 years, including 197 Swedish preschool children was used. Questionnaire data collected from preschool teachers. Statistical analysis using person-oriented methods with repeated cluster analyses. Children high in engagement/social skills and low in conduct problems continue to function well. Children with low engagement/social skills exhibiting both hyperactivity and conduct problems continue to have problems. Children with mixed patterns of protective factors and risk factors showed mixed outcomes. The stability of children's pathways was quite high if they exhibited many positive protective factors but also if they exhibited many risk factors. Children exhibiting a mixed pattern of protective and risk factors moved between clusters in a less predictable way. That stability in mental health was related to the simultaneous occurrence of either many protective factors or many risk factors supports the notion of orchestrated effects. The results indicate that early interventions need to have a dual focus, including both interventions aimed at enhancing child engagement and interventions focused on decreasing behavior problems.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2021. Vol. 62, no 2, p. 170-184
Keywords [en]
Preschool children, engagement, hyperactivity, conduct problems, risk indicators
National Category
Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-51219DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12700ISI: 000598054100001PubMedID: 33314170Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85097511393Local ID: HOA;;1509607OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-51219DiVA, id: diva2:1509607
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and WelfareForte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and WelfareMedical Research Council of Southeast Sweden (FORSS), FORSS‐653271, FORSS‐930636Futurum - Academy for Health and Care, Jönköping County Council, Sweden2020-12-142020-12-142021-04-12Bibliographically approved