家庭收入与儿童早期的社会能力：中介效应与调节效应

以325名幼儿为被试，收集母亲报告的家庭人均月收入、儿童一般社会能力和家庭环境，及教师报告的师生关系，考察了家庭收入在儿童早期社会能力中的作用，及家庭社会文化环境在其中的中介作用和家庭情感环境在其中的调节作用。结果发现：(1) 高收入家庭儿童的一般社会能力及师生关系质量显著高于低收入家庭的儿童；(2) 在家庭收入对儿童一般社会能力的预测中，家庭社会文化环境中的智力-文化取向与社交-娱乐取向均发挥了中介作用，家庭情感环境中的控制性发挥了调节作用，且家庭智力-文化取向的中介作用受到了家庭控制性的调节；(3) 在家庭收入对师生关系质量的预测中，家庭情感环境中的控制性和矛盾性发挥了调节作用。

Family Income and Social Competence in Early Childhood: Examining Mediation and Moderation Effects

Family income plays a crucial role in child development, which has been recognized by a majority of developmental psychologists. Previous research indicated that although family poverty serves as a risk factor in children’s development, warm and cohesive family environment protects low-income children from poor developmental outcomes. However, previous research mainly focused on children’s ill-being as outcomes, while less attention has been devoted to their well-being. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between family income and children’s social competence in early childhood. Furthermore, through examining the mediating role of family socio-cultural environment and the moderating role of family affective environment in the associations between family income and children’s social competence, the present research also represents a specific program to identify the mechanisms underlying the effect of family income. Based on a sample of 325 preschoolers aged 3 to 5 and their mothers and teachers, the present study examined the associations between family income, child general social competence, quality of teacher-child relationships and family environment. Hierarchical regression analyses were applied to detect the effects of family income on children’s social competence as well as the mediating role of family socio-cultural environment and the moderating role of family affective environment in the effects of family income. Results indicated that after controlling for the effects of child gender, grade and parental education, family income displayed a main effect on general social competence as well as on quality of teacher-child relationships, in which high-income children were more socially competent than their low-income counterparts. Family intellectual-cultural and active-recreational orientations served to mediate the association between family income and child general social competence, and family control served to moderate this association in that high family control predicted a positive association (simple slope = 2.63, p < 0.05) while low family control predicted no significant association between family income and child general social competence. Additionally, family control and family conflict also served to moderate the association between family income and quality of teacher-child relationships in that high family control and conflict predicted a positive association between them (simple slope = 6.33, p = 0.001; simple slope = 5.60, p < 0.01) while low family control and conflict predicted no significant association. These findings highlight the importance of examining the role of family income in child development in modern China, and of expanding the existing research on family income by underlying the role of family environment in the effect of family income on children’s social well-being.