A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship between Preschool Readiness and the Adjustment to Preschool Transition in Young Children

Abstract

This majority of young children suffer from separation anxiety to varying degrees in the early stage of preschool attendance, where they first leave home to confront a new environment, experiencing a transition from dependence to self-reliance and from a free and easy home environment to a setting of discipline. Early preschool adaptation affects the younger children’ attitudes towards and perceptions of kindergarten life in their entire preschool years and even their future social adjustment. How to help preschoolers ease and circumvent the maladaptation in their early kindergarten life to facilitate a smooth preschool transition deserves in-depth research. This study focuses on analyzing the effects of preschool readiness on young children’s adjustment to preschool transition using latent growth models.