Relationship Between Communication, Behavioral and Cognitive Skills with Age and Gender in Preschool Children
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Background: Communication, behavioral-emotional regulation, and cognitive abilities develop rapidly during the preschool years and contribute to children’s participation in social and educational environments. Objective: To describe communication, behavioral-emotional, and cognitive characteristics among preschool children and examine their relationship with age and gender. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study included 377 preschool children recruited through purposive sampling from private schools. Children underwent an approximately 30-minute individual observation using a 27-item checklist assessing pre-linguistic, communication, behavioral-emotional, and cognitive characteristics. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 27.0 and summarized as frequencies, percentages, and mean ± standard deviation. Results: Of the participants, 209 (55.4%) were boys, 317 (84.1%) were aged 3.0–4.0 years, and 340 (90.2%) demonstrated pre-linguistic skills. Across most behavioral-emotional, cognitive, and communication items, 77.5%–78.0% were rated as never experiencing the specified difficulty. Difficulties occurring at least sometimes were observed in peer relationships in 81 (21.5%), social withdrawal in 82 (21.8%), emotional regulation in 78 (20.7%), and reciprocal communication in 78 (20.7%) children. The overall checklist reliability was limited (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.520). Conclusion: Most children were not frequently rated as experiencing the assessed difficulties, although a meaningful minority showed concerns warranting further evaluation. The available analysis did not establish relationships with age or gender
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