Screening of Developmental Difficulties during the Transition to Primary School

Carolina González, Ramón D. Castillo, José Patricio Franzani and Cristian Martinich
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Carolina González: Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Ramón D. Castillo: Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Cognitivas, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Talca, Avenida Lircay s/n, Talca 3460000, Chile
José Patricio Franzani: Corporación para el Desarrollo del Aprendizaje (CDA), Santiago 8370167, Chile
Cristian Martinich: Corporación para el Desarrollo del Aprendizaje (CDA), Santiago 8370167, Chile

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: The five-to-fifteen (FTF) questionnaire is a screening tool completed by parents that is able to distinguish developmental disorders in children aged 5 to 15 years old. The current study aimed to characterize the developmental difficulties by gender and school age (kindergarten and first grade) of children in their transition to primary school, using the Spanish-language version of the FTF questionnaire. The participants were 541 parents of typically developed children from kindergarten and first grade in public schools in Chile. Developmental difficulties were revealed, showing that boys displayed significantly more difficulties in their social skills when compared to girls, and that kindergartners displayed significantly more developmental difficulties than first graders. The children’s developmental difficulties in executive functions, social skills, and emotional/behavioral problems exhibited interactions between gender and school age. The findings were discussed in terms of current conceptualizations of both executive functions and self-regulatory processes. These processes and functions are configured early in development, are gradually consolidated over the course of school age, and can be strengthened or weakened by conditions experienced in childhood. Early screening of developmental difficulties from the parents’ perspective would facilitate early detection of problems, as early as in kindergarten, and considering the normal adaptable development of children.

Keywords: gender differences; kindergartners; first graders; transition to primary school; Spanish version FTF questionnaire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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