Prevalence of Aggressive Behaviors among Preschoolers in Head Start and Community Child Care Programs

Author:

Kupersmidt Janis B.1,Bryant Donna1,Willoughby Michael T.1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess both the prevalence and structure of antisocial behavior among 4 year olds in a Head Start sample compared to a randomly sampled group of children in community child care. The findings were consistent with prior literature suggesting that Head Start children demonstrate higher levels of physical aggression compared to community child care children, whereas community child care children had higher levels of verbal forms of aggression compared to Head Start children. However, Head Start and community child care samples did not differ in the person prevalence of aggression. Across both samples and a range of types of aggressive behavior, boys exhibited aggressive behaviors more frequently than girls. The results of factor analyses on the aggression items with the Head Start sample suggest that a greater number of aggressive behaviors constitute the two aggression (i.e., antisocial, relational) factors than the number of behaviors that uniquely load on these factors for the normative sample. This suggests that aggression may be more complex and multifaceted in a concentrated sample of preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. Results are discussed in terms of (a) the multidimensional nature of aggression during the preschool years and (b) the need for increased mental health services within Head Start and community child care programs for aggressive preschoolers.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Clinical Psychology,Developmental and Educational Psychology,Education

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3