Conflict Management in Children's Play: The Role of Parent-Child Attachment

This study examined the relationship between the security of preschool children's attachment relationship to their parents and how they negotiated and managed hypothetical conflict with peers. Participating were 66 preschool-age children recruited from child care facilities and residing in a la...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Kesner, John E
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.11.1997
Subjects
African Americans
Age Differences
Attachment Behavior
Blacks
Conflict Resolution
Hispanic Americans
One Parent Family
Parent Child Relationship
Predictor Variables
Preschool Children
Preschool Education
Relationship
Security of Attachment
Sex Differences
Socioeconomic Status
Whites
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Summary:This study examined the relationship between the security of preschool children's attachment relationship to their parents and how they negotiated and managed hypothetical conflict with peers. Participating were 66 preschool-age children recruited from child care facilities and residing in a large urban area in the southeastern United States. The sample had an average age of 57 months, was predominantly African American, and represented a wide range of socioeconomic status (SES) groups; 45 percent of the sample came from single-parent homes. Children completed the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) and a Conflict Story Completion Task (CSCT), both requiring the child to complete a story begun by the researcher. The ASCT responses were scored on a 4-point scale of security of attachment. The subjects' problem-solving strategy and resolution to the hypothetical conflict on the CSCT were scored for constructiveness. Results indicated that conflict strategy and resolutions were positively related to attachment security and negatively related to SES. Security of attachment was related to the child's age and gender. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that attachment security and SES predicted conflict strategy. Significant predictors of conflict resolution included attachment security and single-parent family status. As predicted, attachment security was a unique predictor of the child's choice of conflict strategy and resolution to hypothetical conflict stories. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/KB)