Journal Article

Teacher-Child Relationship and Behavior Problem Trajectories in Elementary School

O'Connor, Erin E., Collins, Brian A., Dearing, Eric

2011

Overview

The present study examined associations between the quality of teacher-child relationships and behavior problems among elementary school students using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a study of 1,364 children from birth through adolescence. There were two main findings. First, high-quality teacher-child relationships predicted low levels of externalizing behaviors. Second, high-quality relationships acted as protective factors, helping to prevent children with high levels of internalizing behaviors in early childhood from developing trajectories of long-term internalizing behavior problems. Teacher-child relationships may be proximal phenomena that can be targeted in interventions to help prevent behavior problems in middle childhood.

• Publisher: SAGE Publications,American Educational Research Association
• Subject: Adolescents / Age Differences / Anxiety / Attachment Behavior / Behavior / Behavior disorders / Behavior Problems / Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale / Child Behavior Checklist / Child care / Child Development / Childhood / Children / Classroom Environment / Correlation / Depression (Psychology) / Educational Attainment / Educational research / Elementary Education / Elementary School Students / Elementary school teachers / Elementary Schools / Family Environment / Family Income / Family Influence / Gender Differences / Language Skills / Longitudinal studies / Mothers / Parent School Relationship / Predictor Variables / Prevention / Quality / Secondary School Students / Self Efficacy / Student Behavior / Student Characteristics / Student Teacher Relationship Scale / Teacher Student Relationship / Teachers / Teaching, Learning, and Human Development / Trajectories / Woodcock Johnson Psycho Educational Battery / Young Children