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Abstract
This study tested the unique and joint effects of three significant relationships in young children's social lives, namely their relationships with mother, teacher, and peers, on three dimensions of self-concept (general, academic, and social). A sample of 113 children participated. Mother–child attachment quality was observed in preschool. In first grade, teacher ratings of teacher–child relationship quality, peer ratings of peer acceptance, and child reports of self-concept were administered. The results revealed domain-specific links between social relationships and self-concept dimensions. Specifically, academic self-concept related to teacher–child relationship quality, social self-concept to peer acceptance, and general self-concept to the quality of attachment to mother. Moreover, an indirect effect was revealed of earlier mother–child attachment quality on the academic dimension of self through its effect on current adult–child relationships in school. This way, the study uncovered the pathways through which significant social relationships shape the formation of young children's self-concept.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a grant for the Fund for Scientific Research – Flanders (G.0555.09) to Karine Verschueren.
Notes
1. For an additional small group of seven children who changed schools between preschool and first grade, teacher and child measures were administered, but peer nominations were not conducted because of practical considerations.
2. Cognitive ability was also measured at the beginning of kindergarten, using the Coloured Progressive Matrices test (Raven, 1956). Because it was not related to any of the study variables, it was not further included in the analyses.