The kindergarten year plays an important role in establishing children's academic, social, and behavioral adjustment. Early identification of children who experience difficulties with the kindergarten transition is crucial to prevent continued behavioral and emotional problems. Family and school predictors of these early behavioral patterns can…

While much work has shown that aggressive and disruptive behavior in schools may be reinforced by friends and, for some individuals, enhanced social status in the classroom, few studies have examined these phenomena at school entry. This study sought to examine aggressive behavior patterns in kindergarten children in relation to other individual…

Logistic regression analyses were used to establish the most robust set of risk factors that would best predict borderline/clinical levels of problem behavior (i.e., a t score at or above 60 on the Child Behavior Checklist Total Problem scale) of kindergarten and first-grade children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Results showed…

Task persistence, measured by a composite score of independent teacher, tester and observer reports, was examined using behavioral genetic analysis. Participants included 92 monozygotic and 137 same-sex dizygotic twin pairs in Kindergarten or 1st grade (4.3 to 7.9 years old). Task persistence was widely distributed, higher among older children,…