Examination of Peer Relationships of 5-6 Years Old Children

Abstract

Purpose of the research is to examine the peer relationships of children aged 5-6 in terms of some demographic variables. The sample of the study selected by simple random sampling method, consisted of 504 children (237 girls and 267 boys) between the ages of 5-6 who attend formal and private independent kindergartens located in Yunusemre and Şehzadeler counties of Manisa and their teachers. In this study “The General Information Form” and “Ladd-Profilet Child Behaviour Scale” were used. In the study, Independent Groups t-Test, Mann-Whitney U Test, One Way Anova, Kruskal Wallis-H Test were used to analyze of data. According to the results of this study, prosocial behaviors towards peers differ based on age and gender; asocial behaviors towards peers differ based on age and type of kindergarten; anxiousness-fearfulness of children differs based on age, gender and type of kindergarten; exclusion by peers differs based on age, gender and type of kindergarten; hyperactivity of children differs based on age, gender and type of kindergarten; aggression towards peers differs based on gender and type of kindergarten and all these relationships are found to be significant. On the other hand, it was found that prosocial behaviors towards peers, asocial behaviors towards peers, anxiousness-fearfulness of children, exclusion by peers, hyperactivity of children and aggression towards peers did not show statistically significant differences according to the number of siblings and birth order of the child. The findings of the study were discussed, interpreted and appropriate suggestions were given within the scope of the literature.

Keywords

• Preschool Period
• Peer Relations
• Friendship