A Factor Analytic Study of Coping Behavior in Preschool Children

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Abstract
The present study focuses on the potential use of factor analytic techniques for the identification of personality dimensions in young children. Earlier work in this area has tended to rely on rating scales which predetermined the outcome of the analyses by their built-in theoretical biases. The scales here were designed to reflect a child's total area of functioning and to require the least amount of inference on the part of the rater. Three studies were done with a total of 129 nursery and kindergarten children. Of the factors identified, three were reproduced consistently in each of the studies. Factor I, Social Confidence, is characterized by leadership and assertiveness in interpersonal relations. Factor II, Cooperation, suggests a passivity in interpersonal relations and somewhat of a dependent stance. Factor III, Persistence, reflects a potential for problem solving and task orientation. It seems to have some relationship, as well, to autonomy. Two additional factors which appear rather consistently are Mobility and Aggression The factors which appeared here are compared with findings from earlier work and suggest the possibility of deriving factor scores for separate children for comparative and developmental study.

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