• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.145-164
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• 2012

This study examined the effects of marital conflict and mothers' anger and depression on the behavioral problems of preschoolers. A total of 393 mothers with 3-year-old preschoolers responded to questionnaires, which included items related to marital conflict, mothers' anger and depression, and their preschoolers' behavioral problems. Data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. The results indicated that marital conflict had no direct effect, but there were indirect effects on preschoolers' behavioral problems caused by mothers' anger and depression. Mothers who believed that they were experiencing high levels of marital conflict revealed high levels of anger and depression and reported higher rates of behavioral problems in their children. Mothers' depression also mediated the impact of marital conflict on preschoolers' behavioral problems, but mothers' anger level apparently did not. The effects of mothers' level of depression on preschoolers' behavioral problems were the highest among all the predictors. These findings imply that both improving marital relationships and regulating mothers' anger and depression levels need to be emphasized when designing prevention and intervention programs aimed at improving the behavioral problems of preschoolers.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.103-121
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• 2016

This study examined the effects of marital relationships, mother's parenting stress and positive parenting behavior on the behavioral problems of preschoolers. For this purpose, we created a structural equation model and examined the goodness of fit of the model using the RMSEA, SRMR, TLI, and CFI. The participants were 986 4-year-old preschoolers and their mothers taken from the 5th year of the Korea Children's Panel. The results of this study were as follows: First, a negative marital relationship had a significant negative effect on behavioral problems of preschoolers directly. And a negative marital relationship had a significant indirect effect on behavioral problems of preschoolers through the parenting behavior. Second, parenting stress had a significant negative effect on behavioral problems of preschoolers directly. And parenting stress had a significant indirect effect on behavioral problems of preschoolers through the parenting behavior. These findings imply that both improving marital relationships and regulating mothers' parenting stress and parenting behavior need to be emphasized when designing prevention and intervention programs aimed at improving the behavioral problems of preschoolers.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of preschoolers' negative emotionality on their peer play behaviors, focusing on the mediation of behavioral problems. Methods: The study sample included 287 preschoolers aged 3 to 5 attending child care centers located in Seoul, Korea. The instruments used in this study were the Child Behavior Questionnaires (CBQ), Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS). Results: The main results of this study are as follows: First, boys and girls' negative emotionality exerted positive effects on their behavioral problems. Second, boys and girls' negative emotionality had a positive influence on their play interaction, play disruption, and play disconnection. Further, the effect of boys' negative emotionality on their play disruption and play disconnection was totally mediated by their behavioral problems, and girls' negative emotionality on their play interaction and play disconnection was totally mediated by their behavioral problems. Conclusion/Implications: These findings provide preliminary evidence that the relationships between preschoolers' negative emotionality and peer play behaviors may be mediated by their behavioral problems.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.521-526
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Although a lot of effort has been put into increasing fruit and vegetable intakes in preschool children, vegetable intake in this group is still low. This study investigated whether nutrition education focusing on fruit and vegetable intakes can affect preschoolers' fruit and vegetable intakes as well as their behavioral outcomes. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Thirty-five preschoolers (54.3% boys, n = 19) aged 4-6 years residing in Seoul underwent weekly nutrition education intervention (8 sessions) between May and July 2016. Intakes of fruits and vegetables were measured during pre and post-intervention. At snack time, fresh fruit (150 g) and vegetable (120 g) snacks were distributed to each child by teachers. The remaining portions of the snacks were weighed and recorded for each child. Behavioral outcomes were measured by applying Child behavior checklist 1.5-5 and the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. RESULTS: During post intervention, vegetable intake increased from $36.15{\pm}30.64g$ to $48.01{\pm}31.23g$ (P = 0.010). Among the emotional and behavioral problems measured by parents, levels of total problems (P = 0.001), internalizing (P = 0.004), externalizing (P = 0.003), anxiety and depression (P = 0.001), and aggressive behavior (P = 0.005) decreased. Anxiety (P = 0.026) score, as measured by teachers, also decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition education of preschoolers regarding the intakes of fruits and vegetables had a positive effect on preschoolers' vegetable intake as well as on their emotional and behavioral outcomes. A long-term, large-scale study with a broader study design is warranted to further investigate the role of fruit and vegetable intake in cognitive development and behavior of preschoolers.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.9
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• pp.33-45
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate the tendency and characteristics of behavior problems in preschool children. The aim was to acquire basic information that could be used in diagnosis and intervention strategies. The target of this study were 823 preschoolers, the reporting on which was conducted through the responses of 81 teachers. Analysis consisted of partitioning behavioral problems by demographic variables in order to ascertain differences by age, sex, and cut-off score of the high risk group. Overall results indicate significant differences in behavioral problems according to socio-demographic variable. The conclusions of this study offer a foundation for diagnosis, intervention, and therapy for preschoolers with problem behaviors.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.55-69
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to describe preschoolers' perceptions of fear from their own perspective. Qualitative data from 213 preschoolers 4 to 6 years of age were obtained by semi-structured interviews. The fear inventory was analyzed by content analysis and frequency. The most common fears of preschoolers in this study were fear of ferocious animals and imaginary figures, such as tigers, lions, snakes, spirits and ghosts. Fear of ghosts was the primary fear of both boys and girls. Results showed that most fears were caused by disgust-related visual images. Worry about injury and pain was another common pathway to fear. At-risk preschoolers scored significantly higher than normal preschoolers on fears of criticism and getting an injection.

• The Korean Journal of Woman Psychology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 2011

In order to explore the impact of gender in the effects of age, temperament, and parenting on preschoolers' psychosocial problems, 339 preschoolers, 3-5 year old, were assessed using parent report measures of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, temperament, and parenting. The results of ANOVA and hierarchical regression analyses are as follows. First, the main effects of age and gender for externalizing problems and the interaction effect of age and gender for internalizing problems were significant. Second, the important predictors of preschoolers' internalizing and externalizing problems were different by gender. In boys, Novelty Seeking(NS), Harm Avoidance(HA), and hostile parenting significantly predicted both problems. In girls, NS, HA, and warm parenting significantly predicted both problems. In addition, girls were more strongly influenced by parenting whereas boys were more influenced by their temperaments. The results of this study highlight some important suggestions for prevention strategies for preschoolers' behavioral problems. The implications and limitations of this study were further discussed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.795-800
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• 2006

In order to examine nutritional and behavioral risk factors of atopic dermatitis (AD) in Korean preschoolers, we analyzed data on 144 children aged 3-6 years with AD and their 434 healthy counterparts. The data included breast-feeding history, current weight, food behaviors assessed by the Mini Dietary Assessment (MDA), food intake by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, and behavior problems by the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale (PKBS). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed after controlling for preschool location and child's age, gender and total energy intake, as appropriate. There was no group difference of child and household characteristics. Breastfeeding history was related to lower AD risk (OR = 0.63, 95% Cl = 0.40-0.99), yet no statistically significant association was found with overweight status. Regarding food behaviors, AD risk was lower in children who drank milk at least one cup per day (OR = 0.52, 95% Cl = 0.35-0.78) and had regular meals (OR = 0.62, 95% Cl =0.42-0.92). Moreover, there were lower risks of AD in the second (OR =0.48, 95% Cl = 0.28-0.82) and the highest (OR = 0.55, 95% Cl = 0.32-0.94) intake quartiles as compared with the lowest quartile of kimchi intake. Similarly, AD risk was lower in the highest quartile of rice (OR = 0.51 Cl = 0.28-0.93) and the second quartile of fruit (OR =0.45, 95% Cl = 0.25-0.82) intakes. AD children had more problems in social interaction (OR = 1.97,95% Cl = 1.26-3.07) and independence (OR = 1.60, 95% Cl = 1.01 -2.54) measures than the healthy controls. Likewise, AD children tended to show more problem behaviors such as anxiety (OR = 1.63, 95% Cl = 0.99-2.69). Our results suggest that nutritional and behavioral dimensions are related to AD risk, yet the case control study design may preclude generalization of these results.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.181-191
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to compare the difference between the adaptive and internalizing/externalizing maladaptive behaviors of the sensory processing problemtic group classified from non-disabled preschoolers and to confirms the effects of sensory processing sub-factors on adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. This study participated in 335, 3-6 years typical preschoolers, carried out Short sensory profile, Vineland-II adaptive behavior scales. The study result in the sensory processing showed a significant positive correlation with the adaptive behavior, and a significant negative correlations were found in the internalizing/externalizing maladaptive behaviors. In the t-test, the problemtic group had lower adaptive behavior scores than the typical group. This study confirmed that atypical sensory processing affected not only adaptive behavior, but also internalizing/externalizing maladaptive problems, that sensory processing difficulties were more related to emotional and behavioral issues.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.73-89
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument to assess Korean teachers' strategies for addressing challenging behaviors of preschoolers. The Teacher Strategy Questionnaire(TSQ) consisting of 34 items was developed with three theoretically driven factors(positive proactive, positive reactive, and negative reactive strategies). Participants were 238 preschool and daycare center teachers who responded to the TSQ. Validity and reliability of the TSQ were explored using Cronbach's $\alpha$, item analysis, and factor analyses. The reliability of the TSQ was relatively high, ranging from .74 to .85. No item needed to be eliminated. Among the three pre-structured factors of the TSQ, one positive proactive factor was identified as having two innate factors.