Promoting Toddlers' Positive Social-Emotional Outcomes in Low-Income Families: A Play-Based Experimental Study

• Published in: Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology Vol. 42; no. 5; pp. 700 - 712
• Main Authors: Kochanska, Grazyna, Kim, Sanghag, Boldt, Lea J., Nordling, Jamie Koenig
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis Group 01.09.2013; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Adult; Child Development - physiology; Child psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Coding; Community Control; Competence; Cooperation; Dosage; Ecological Factors; Emotions; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Low income groups; Male; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Play and Playthings; Poverty; Preschool children; Structural Equation Models; Toddlers; Young Children
• ISSN: 1537-4416; 1537-4424
• DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2013.782815

This multimethod study of mothers and toddlers (a) examined the effectiveness of a play-based intervention (child-oriented play vs. play-as-usual) on children's cooperation with their mothers and socioemotional competence; (b) introduced a robust new measure of maternal engagement in the intervention, reflected in the dose of child-oriented play the mother delivered to the child; and (c) examined ecological factors that predicted maternal engagement, and the effect of engagement on the outcomes. Low-income mothers (N = 186, 11% Latino, 27% minority) were randomized into child-oriented play group or play-as-usual group, participated in 8 play sessions, and played daily with their children for 10 weeks. Microscopic coding of mothers' behavior in play sessions assessed the dose of child-oriented play delivered to children; mothers' diaries assessed time in daily play. Children's cooperation with maternal control, observed in the laboratory, and mother-rated competence were measured before randomization (Pretest), after play sessions (Posttest 1), and 6 months later (Posttest 2). Children in both groups made significant gains in both outcomes. The gains in cooperation appeared longer lasting in child-oriented play group. Both groups made significantly greater gains than a "historical community control" group, an unrelated longitudinal study without any intervention. Structural equation analyses revealed that married mothers and those with fewer children delivered higher doses of child-oriented play, and those doses predicted children's higher cooperation and competence, with the effects of earlier scores covaried. The dose of time spent in daily play had no effect. Child-oriented play may be a promising, effective, and inexpensive means of promoting toddlers' positive development.