Skill variability within play groups and response to a preschool block play intervention

IF 2.5 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2026-04-21 DOI:10.1016/j.appdev.2026.101956

Brianna L. Devlin , Filip-Bogdan Serban-Dragan , Elyssa A. Geer , Tracy M. Zehner , Robert J. Duncan , David J. Purpura , Sara A. Schmitt

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Children's response to play-based interventions in early childhood may depend on the variability of children's skills in the play group to which they are assigned. We investigated the relation between pretest play group variability and responsiveness to intervention using data from a preschool block play intervention for children from low-income backgrounds. Preschoolers (N = 142, M_age = 52.76 months) from two Midwestern states in the United States participated in the 8-week intervention, randomly assigned to either a free play or semi-structured condition. We tested whether pretest group variability in math, spatial, and self-regulation skills within intervention groups related to change from pre- to post-test, and whether any effects of group variability were moderated by the group's average skill-level or the type of block play they engaged in. Group variability was only related to change for self-regulation skills, such that more homogeneous groups grew more over time in behavioral self-regulation and complex planning skills. Effects were not moderated by group initial average skill level or type of block play. We unpack these findings and suggest future areas of research for early childhood play-based interventions.

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游戏组内的技能变异和对学龄前街区游戏干预的反应

儿童对幼儿期以游戏为基础的干预措施的反应可能取决于分配给他们的游戏组中儿童技能的可变性。我们调查了测试前游戏组变异性与对干预的反应性之间的关系，使用的数据来自低收入背景的学龄前儿童的街区游戏干预。来自美国中西部两个州的学龄前儿童（N = 142，年龄= 52.76个月）参与了为期8周的干预，随机分配到自由玩耍和半结构化的环境中。我们测试了干预组中数学、空间和自我调节技能的测试前组变异性是否与测试前到测试后的变化有关，以及小组变异性的任何影响是否被小组的平均技能水平或他们参与的积木游戏类型所缓和。群体差异只与自我调节技能的变化有关，因此，随着时间的推移，同质群体在行为自我调节和复杂的计划技能方面增长得更多。效果不受小组初始平均技能水平或砌块游戏类型的影响。我们对这些发现进行了分析，并提出了儿童早期游戏干预的未来研究领域。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology focuses on two key concepts: human development, which refers to the psychological transformations and modifications that occur during the life cycle and influence an individual behavior within the social milieu; and application of knowledge, which is derived from investigating variables in the developmental process. Its contributions cover research that deals with traditional life span markets (age, social roles, biological status, environmental variables) and broadens the scopes of study to include variables that promote understanding of psychological processes and their onset and development within the life span. Most importantly.