A longitudinal perspective on frequency of parent–child activities and social–emotional development

ABSTRACT

Surprisingly little research has considered whether parent–child activities facilitate social–emotional development and whether these associations differ for boys and girls. To address this gap, this study leveraged the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (2006–2008) to examine the extent to which story reading, storytelling and music activities longitudinally predicted social–emotional development. Parents reported the frequency of parent–child activities when children (N = 2567) were aged 3–6 and their social–emotional functioning two years later. Multi-group analyses indicated significant sex differences after controlling for family income. Story reading was negatively associated with hyperactivity and emotional/anxiety problems whereas storytelling was negatively associated with physical and indirect aggression among boys, but not girls. Storytelling and music activities were associated with lower hyperactivity among girls. More frequent parent–child activities predicted more prosocial behaviours among both boys and girls. This study highlights that each parent–child activity has its own distinctive implications on social–emotional functioning.

KEYWORDS:

• parent–child activities
• story reading
• storytelling
• home music activities
• social–emotional development

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funds to the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and Statistics Canada. Although the research and analysis are based on data from Statistics Canada, the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada or the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN).

This work was also supported by the Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) Entrance Scholarship. The QICSS did not participate in any stages of the research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) Entrance Scholarship.

Notes on contributors

Tracy K. Y. Wong

Tracy K.Y. Wong is a PhD candidate at McGill University’s Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology. Her research focuses on the roles of parents in socio-emotional and cognitive development, exploring topics such as parenting practices and values transmission. She is now extending her research to school climate and identity development.

Chiaki Konishi

Chiaki Konishi is an Assistant Professor at McGill University. She is the director of the Social-Emotional Development Research Group. Her research concentrates on understanding the roles of connectedness on children’s and adolescents’ well-being in the framework on social-emotional learning and development, particularly in relation to bullying and the school climate.

Xiaoxue Kong

Xiaoxue Kong is a PhD candidate at McMaster University’s Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour. Her research focuses on children’s personality and socioemotional development, and she also emphasizes on psychometrics, measurement and contextual issues.