Executive functions and classroom quality in kindergarten predict peer acceptance in first grade

The attainment of sufficient peer acceptance profoundly impacts child development and successful school adjustment. This study aims to determine the extent to which child executive functions and classroom quality in kindergarten predict peer acceptance in first-grade schoolers. Data was collected in two different periods, separated by a 1-year interval. At Time 1, classroom quality and executive functions were measured using a sample of 449 children in kindergarten (M = 6.3 years). By the Time 2, the participants were first-grade primary school students and were diagnosed on peer acceptance dimensions: sociometric status, reciprocity, and self-sociometric status (n = 203, M = 7.4 years). Regression models were constructed, controlling for sex, age, nonverbal intelligence, child peer acceptance in kindergarten, kindergarten class, and school class as random effects. The results indicated that executive functions in kindergarten are the primary predictor of the sociometric status, as well as the reciprocity. The kindergarten classroom quality, in terms of emotional support, tends to be the most significant predictor of self-sociometric status.