Socio-emotional development and well-being

The child’s socio-emotional development progresses rapidly between infancy and age

their needs to caregivers and to start ‘labelling’ their feelings. However, the ability to

regulate emotional responses and be aware of others’ needs will be less well

developed than would be expected from school-age children.

Socio-emotional development and well-being is of particular interest at this stage as

the child is likely to have more interactions with other children and adults than

previously, particularly if they have already (or are about to be) enrolled in an early

learning setting. Measuring constructs such as temperament and socio-emotional

development at age 3 are potentially important contemporary snapshots to capture

for future analyses; for example, in relation to how well they transition to formal

schooling and any later concerns about their socio-emotional well-being. Typically,

such constructs are measured using sets of scaled items; potential candidates are

discussed briefly in the following paragraphs.

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ – Goodman, 1997, 2001)