The Relation between Parents’ Knowledge of Social-Emotional Development and Preschoolers’ Social-Emotional Outcomes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: The first objective was to identify whether thereis a relation between parents’ knowledge about children’s social-emotional development and their young children’s social-emotional development. The second objective was to examine whether parents’ knowledge about children’s social-emotional development varied by socioeconomic status (SES), as measured by parents’ educational attainment. Participants included 45 parents or guardians of children ages two to five. Participants completed questionnaires measuring their knowledge of social-emotional development and their child’s social-emotional development. Measures of parenting-efficacy, parental stress, depression, and anxiety were also administered for use as potential control variables. Results from this study indicate no significant correlation between parents’ knowledge and children’s social-emotional development, but parents’ self-efficacy and children’s social-emotional development were positively correlated. Future research is warranted to better understand these relations.