Exploring the predictors of peer problems across early to middle childhood using the UK millennium cohort study

Background Despite theoretical and empirical evidence linking peer problems to environmental and behavioural factors, the complex interactions between parenting, self-regulation and social behaviour influencing children’s peer relationships are not clear. As children move from the early years into middle childhood, a deeper insight is required to understand the evolving relationship between parenting, social behaviour and peer interaction. During this transitional stage in children’s lives their socialisation environment broadens from primarily home-based to primarily school-based, with successful transitions marked by the positive social behaviour and self-regulation and the formation of positive relationships with peers. However, it is not clear the extent to which parenting, self-regulation and social behaviour are causally related to peer relationships, and whether these relations are subject to developmental change. Methods Using data from the sweeps two, three and four of the Millenium Cohort Study (N = 15,590), the current thesis applied structural equation path analysis to explore how parenting predicted peer problems directly and indirectly through self-regulation and social behaviour at age three (Chapter Two), five (Chapter Three) and seven (Chapter Four). We then combined these models to provide a longitudinal perspective on the development of peer problems across early to middle childhood (Chapters Five and Six). A preliminary systematic review of the Millennium Cohort Study suggested that peer relations have not featured strongly in extant exploration of this dataset, despite this large and representative dataset being ideally suited to model the complexity of social development (Chapter One). Harsh parenting was measured through the Conflict Tactics Scale at ages three, five and seven and warm parenting was measured via the Parent Child Relationship Scale at age three. Child social behaviour and peer problems were measured through the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire in which parents scaled their children’s hyperactivity, prosocial behaviour, conduct problems and peer problems. Together with hyperactivity, behavioural Self-regulation was also measured through the Independence and Self-regulation Subscale Child Social Behaviour Questionnaire. Our model predicted both direct and indirect impacts of parenting, self-regulation and social behaviour on peer problems. Results Warm parenting at age three was positively predictive of self-regulation and prosocial behaviour and negatively predictive of conduct problems and peer problems (Chapter Two). Harsh parenting at age three (Chapter Two), five (Chapter Three) and seven (Chapter Four) was predictive of reduced self-regulation and increased behaviour problems. Self-regulation was positively predictive of prosocial behaviour. However, neither harsh parenting nor self-regulation or child’s social behaviour was strongly predictive of peer problems at ages three, five and seven. From a longitudinal perspective (Chapter five), parent child conflict and conduct problems decreased steadily across the three to five, and five to seven years, and prosocial behaviour increased across the same periods. Independence increased across three to five years and remained stable across five to seven years. However, both peer problems and hyperactivity decreased across three to five years but increased between five and seven years. These results suggest that peer problems may increase in middle childhood, despite increases in positive behaviour and decreases in negative behaviour and parent child conflict across the same time period. Indeed, longitudinal modelling suggested that although early harsh parenting, self-regulation and social behaviour was predictive of later harsh parenting, self-regulation and social behaviour, and there are some relations between these factors (e.g. harsh parenting predicts conduct problems), peer problems were not strongly predicted by parenting, self-regulation or social behaviour. This null result held even when warm parenting was included in the predictive model (Chapter Six). The only significant predictor of peer problems emerging from our model was the existence of previous peer problems, suggesting that despite developmental fluctuation at a group level, peer problems can become a deepening cycle. Conclusions Parenting is influential in the development of young children’s social behaviour, but there was little evidence to suggest that parenting or social behaviour were strongly predictive of peer problems across three to seven years. One possibility is that the parental report measures employed here were not sufficiently sensitive to capture the true relations between these factors in early and middle childhood. However, it is also possible that additional factors not measured here may be predictive of peer problems. We conclude that despite the established importance of peer relations to children’s wellbeing, and the provision of evidence to suggest peer problems may deepen across middle childhood, the factors which predict successful peer relations remain an open question.