In K. Verschueren & H. Koomen (Chair), Interpersonal relationships in kindergarten.

Temperamental reactivity places children at risk for developing more externalizing behavior and less positive self-evaluations. However, temperamental research also stresses the role of the social environment in shaping children’s adjustment. In this short-term longitudinal study in kindergarten, the moderating role of closeness of dyadic teacher-child relationships in the relation between young children’s temperamental reactivity and indices of psychosocial adjustment (i.e., aggressive behavior and self-esteem) was examined. We expected highly reactive children to be at risk for more aggressive behavior and more negative self-evaluations, but especially under conditions of low relational closeness. High teacher-child closeness was assumed to reduce or counterbalance this risk for more aggressive behavior and more negative self-evaluations. To test this hypothesis, a sample of 169 children and their 36 kindergarten teachers in 26 schools was investigated. Teacher-child closeness was observed in the classroom using an adapted version of Pianta’s Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Two aspects of temperamental reactivity (i.e., frustration and activity) were assessed using standardized laboratory tasks. Aggressive behavior was rated at three occasions during the school year by the kindergarten teacher. Children were individually interviewed regarding their self-esteem using Marsh’s Self-Description Questionnaire. Results of multilevel analyses (moments within children within classes) generally confirmed that child reactive temperament has different implications for adjustment depending on the quality of child-teacher interactions in school. High temperamental activity was found to place children at risk for developing aggressive behavior problems, but only when teacher-child closeness was low. Likewise, high temperamental frustration predicted lower reports of self-esteem, but only under the condition of low teacher-child closeness. When teacher-child closeness was high, these risks were counterbalanced. These findings reveal the plasticity of early child development and the role teachers can play and are, therefore, important to incorporate in (psycho)education of (future) teachers.status: publishe