Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2019 TEACHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS, INTERACTIONS, AND PROBLEM BEHAVIOR: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS EXAMINING BI-DIRECTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS Rachel Kunemund Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd © Rachel Kunemund Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5979 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu.edu © Rachel L Kunemund All rights reserved 2019 TEACHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS, INTERACTIONS, AND PROBLEM BEHAVIOR: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS EXAMINING BI-DIRECTIONAL ASSOCIATIONS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University by Rachel L Kunemund Bachelor of Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Masters of Education, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Directors: Kevin S Sutherland, Ph.D Professor Department of Counseling and Special Education Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA June, 2019 ii Acknowledgement As I am wrapping up this Ph.D journey there are several people I would like to acknowledge for their support during the past four years First, my chair and advisor, Kevin Sutherland Kevin, you have supported me throughout the past four years and have been an amazing mentor You have guided me through this Ph.D process and given me every opportunity to be successful, I will always be grateful for your endless support I would also like to thank Kristen Granger, you have been an incredible, mentor and friend You have helped guide me through this dissertation process and made the seemingly insurmountable dissertation become possible Thank you to my committee members Yaoying Xu, Bryce McLeod, and Michael Broda Your feedback, direction, and encouragement have helped me become a better researcher and scholar My dissertation is stronger for it Next I would like to thank some of the strong and amazing women in my life who have become credible friends and family Shannon Nemer, one of my closest friends and office mate in the SNaRK lab We have spent a lot of time together in that tiny office built for one and off on travelling adventures I will forever be grateful for your friendship and in admiration of your thoughtfulness and willingness to listen, stay out of the forest Next, Lauren Bruno, over the past four years you have become my family You have been there through it all, and are a true friend in every sense of the word, thank you Many thanks to Kim McKnight, a fantastic mentor and friend You have supported me in all aspects of life—school, work, and momming, thank you for your guidance and friendship iii Finally, I would like to thank my dad and sister Adrian, we have gone through our own Ph.D journeys at the same time and have somehow come out on the other side You are an amazing sister and I am so very proud of you Dad, thank you for always being there and cheering me on throughout the past 31 years, you have always been a great support and I can truly not thank you enough iv Dedication For Ava, Shane, and mom You have made this all possible v Table of Contents List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………… …………viii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………… … Importance……………………………………………………………………………… Teacher-child Relationships……………………………………………………………….6 Teacher-child Relationships and Gender………………………………………………….7 Teacher-child Interactions……………………………………………………………… Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………… …10 Rationale……………………………………………………………………………… 12 Statement of Purpose…………………………………………………………………….13 Research Aims……………………………………………………………………… ….13 Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………………….13 Meta-analysis………………………………………………………………………………….…19 Purpose of Meta-analysis…………………………………………………………… …20 Method…………………………………………………………………………… ……22 Selection of Studies………………………………………………………………22 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria…………………………………………………22 Coding of Studies…………………………………………………………… …24 Interobserver Agreement……………………………………………………… 25 vi Results……………………………………………………………………………………25 Literature Review……………………………………………………………… 25 Sample……………………………………………………………………………26 Data Analyses………………………………………… ……………………….28 Main Effects…………………………………………………………………… 30 Moderator Analyses…………………………………………………………… 35 Sensitivity Analyses………………………………………………….………… 36 Publication Bias………………………………………………………………….29 Discussion……………………………………………………………………………… 39 Implication and Limitations…………………………………………………… 41 Future Directions and Dissertation Analysis…………………………………….42 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………… 45 BEST in CLASS…………………………………………………………………………45 Participants………………………………………………………………………………47 Measures…………………………………………………………………………………47 Data Analysis Plan……………………………………………………………………….50 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………56 Preliminary Analysis……………………………………… ………………………… 56 Study Variable Descriptives…………………………………………………………… 57 Model Fit…………………………………………………………………………………58 BEST in CLASS Group Model………………………………………………………….59 Business as Usual Group Model……………………………………………… ……… 62 Comparison of Two Groups…………………………………………………………… 63 vii Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………… 65 Problem Behavior and Teacher-child Relationships…………………………………… 67 Positive Teacher-child Interactions and Problem Behavior………… ……………….…69 Positive Teacher-Child Interactions and Teacher-child Relationships………………… 71 Additional Findings…………………………………………………………………… 72 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………….74 Implications and Future Directions………………………………………………………76 References………………………………………………………………… ……………80 Appendices Appendix A: Publication Bias Test 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between teachers' perceptions of children's behavior problems and teacher–child relationships in the first preschool year The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 172, 176–198 92 Appendix A Publication Bias Test Figures Closeness predicting problem behavior Figure Funnel plot examining distribution of individual study effect sizes (Fisher’s z) and standard errors for closeness predicting problem behavior 93 Problem behavior predicting closeness 15 05 Funnel plot with pseudo 95% confidence limits -.6 -.4 -.2 pbclos_z Figure 10 Funnel plot examining distribution of individual study effect sizes (Fisher’s z) and standard errors 94 Conflict predicting problem behavior 15 05 Funnel plot with pseudo 95% confidence limits conpb_z Figure 13 Funnel plot examining distribution of individual study effect sizes (Fisher’s z) and standard errors 95 -2 20 40 Precision Study regression line 95% CI for intercept Figure 14 Eggers test examining publication bias 96 60 Filled funnel plot with pseudo 95% confidence limits theta, filled 0 s.e of: theta, filled Figure 15 Funnel plot from Trim and Fill analysis Problem behavior predicting teacher-child conflict 97 .2 15 05 Funnel plot with pseudo 95% confidence limits pbcon_z -2 02 Figure 16 Funnel plot examining distribution of individual study effect sizes (Fisher’s z) and standard errors 20 40 Precision Study regression line 95% CI for intercept 98 60 Figure 17 Eggers test examining publication bias Filled funnel plot with pseudo 95% confidence limits theta, filled 0 s.e of: theta, filled Figure 18 Funnel plot from Trim and Fill analysis 99 ... positive teacher-child interactions and teacher-child relationships (i.e., conflict and closeness), 2) positive teacher-child interactions and problem behavior, and 3) teacher-child relationships and. .. Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………… 65 Problem Behavior and Teacher-child Relationships? ??………………………………… 67 Positive Teacher-child Interactions and Problem Behavior………… ……………….…69 Positive Teacher-Child Interactions and Teacher-child. .. behavior, teacher-child interactions, and teacher-child relationships for preschool children and their teachers and whether or not these relations varied by gender Teacher-child Relationships and Gender