幼児期における身体的・言語的関わりと子どもの社会的行動の関連

We examined the relationship between mothers’ physical and verbal involvement with their children in early childhood and their children’s social behaviors, such as impulsive and hyperactive, aggressive, isolating, or cooperative adaptive behaviors, and then noted changes in these relationships over time by gender and sibling status. The results showed that verbal involvement consistently had a positive effect on children’s social behavior. By contrast, physical involvement had a negative effect on children’s social behavior at the age of 6. However, the results suggested that physical involvement may have a positive effect on children’s social behavior in 5-year-old girls. Generally speaking, the results indicated that verbal involvement is effective in early childhood, and that physical involvement should be gradually decreased.