Overactive Behavior, Peer Rejection, and Interactive Play in Head Start Preschoolers School Readiness Moderates Social Outcomes

Theorists and researchers have emphasized the importance of interactive peer play for children’s social-emotional and cognitive development. Children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are at increased risk for social-emotional and cognitive difficulties. Therefore, it is important to determine the causes of interactive peer play, particularly in a high-risk sample of Head Start preschoolers. Overactive behavior at the beginning of the preschool year has been shown to negatively predict changes in interactive play between the beginning and end of the preschool year. However, possible mechanisms of this association have been underexplored. The main purpose of this study will be to determine whether peer rejection mediates the association between overactive behavior and changes in interactive play and whether mediation is conditional on children’s school readiness. If it is found that moderated mediation exists for overactive children with low school readiness, children who present both of these characteristics at the beginning of the preschool year should be provided with preventative support.