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Contextual variation in young children’s acquisition of social-emotional skills

Author

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  • Dana C McCoy
  • Jorge Cuartas
  • Marcus Waldman
  • Günther Fink

Abstract

This study examined variation in the timing of 5,447 infants’ and toddlers’ reported acquisition of 12 basic social-emotional skills across and within 11 developing and developed country sites. Although children differed significantly across sites in when they attained social-emotional skills on average (e.g., M age Brazil = 20.50 months vs. M age India = 26.92 months), there was also substantial heterogeneity across skills. For example, children in Pakistan were reported to demonstrate sympathy on average seven months earlier than their peers in Ghana, whereas the opposite was true for sharing. Overall, country-level health and education were strongly associated (r > .60) with earlier site-level skill attainment. In addition to heterogeneity across sites, we also observed notable within-site variability in skill development (ICCs = .03 to .38). Future research is needed to identify sources of variability and how to promote skills that matter within a given context.

Suggested Citation

  • Dana C McCoy & Jorge Cuartas & Marcus Waldman & Günther Fink, 2019. "Contextual variation in young children’s acquisition of social-emotional skills," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(11), pages 1-13, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0223056
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223056
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    1. Lia C. H. Fernald & Elizabeth Prado & Patricia Kariger & Abbie Raikes, 2017. "A Toolkit for Measuring Early Childhood Development in Low and Middle-Income Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 29000.
    2. Altafim, Elisa Rachel Pisani & McCoy, Dana Charles & Linhares, Maria Beatriz Martins, 2018. "Relations between parenting practices, socioeconomic status, and child behavior in Brazil," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 93-102.
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