A Study on the Relationship Between the Formation of Close Friendships and Changes in Behavior :Focusing on Children with Difficulty in Behavior Control

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25590229
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Education
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: HATTORI Keiko 京都府立大学, 公共政策学部, 准教授 (70324275)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 幼児 / 行動制御困難 / 親密な友達 / 集団づくり

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research explored the relationship between the formation of close friendships and changes in behavior at a nursery school, focusing on children with difficulty in behavior control. In study 1, the behavioral episodes of Child A were categorized and differences in the monthly occurrence rates of episodes were analyzed. Results revealed that the establishment of 'equal and close' friendships coincided with the period when a decrease in problem behavior started to be observed. In study 2, episode records were analyzed for four children who had clear behavioral problems. Results showed that during periods when the children were engaged in activities that interested them, there were fewer occurrences of problem behavior. However, in two children who did not form close friendships, problematic behaviors recurred after the initial improvement in behavior. One child who did establish close friendships through small-group activities exhibited a sharp decrease in problematic behavior.

Free Research Field

発達心理学、保育学