The effects of crowding on the social and cognitive development of young children.
Item
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Title
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The effects of crowding on the social and cognitive development of young children.
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Identifier
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AAI9029961
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identifier
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9029961
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Creator
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Maxwell, Lorraine E.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Susan Saegert
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Date
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1990
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social | Psychology, Developmental | Education, Early Childhood
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Abstract
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The purpose of this study was to determine what effects the experience of high density in the home and in childcare centers has on the social and cognitive development of young children. Four-year old children were observed and tested in Daycare and Headstart centers. Children were tested for cognitive style and cognitive abilities using the Children's Embedded Figures Test and the Preschool Inventory respectively. Children also were rated by their teachers using the Behar Springfield Behavioral Disturbance Rating Scale. A questionnaire was used to obtain information about the children's home including household size, density (people per room), and availability of a private place for the child. A subsample consisting of four children in each center was chosen for the observations. Children attending the Daycare centers had a full-day program while those attending Headstart had a half-day program.;The findings indicated that children from low density homes engaged in more integrative behaviors in the classroom, continued the activity longer, were more likely to play with other children rather than alone or with an adult, and renewed an activity when interrupted more often than children from high density homes. Having a private place in the home was marginally related to less anxious behavior and higher scores on the Children's Embedded Figures Test. Children in high density classrooms, (in all cases these were in the full-day centers) showed less continuous behavior than those in the moderate density classrooms. Children in the high density classrooms also received higher behavioral disturbance scores than those in the moderate density classrooms. This was especially true for boys who were more likely than girls to be rated as hostile and hyperactive in these classrooms. Scores on the Preschool Inventory and the Children's Embedded Figures Test, however, also were higher in the high density, Daycare center classrooms.;The study calls for further investigation into the function of private place for young children and larger sample sizes of different density levels in full- and half-day childcare programs to more fully evaluate the role density may play in these environments.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
