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Abstract Classroom engagement plays a crucial role in preschoolers' development, yet the correlates of engagement, especially among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delays (DD), remains unknown. This study examines levels of engagement with classroom social partners and tasks among children in three groups ASD, DD, and typical development (TD). Here, we asked whether children's vocal interactions (vocalizations to and from peers and teachers) were associated with their classroom engagement with social partners (peers and teachers) and with tasks, and whether the association between classroom engagement and vocal interactions differed between children in the ASD group and their peers in the DD and TD groups. Automated measures of vocalizations and location quantified children's vocal interactions with peers and teachers over the course of the school year. Automated location and vocalization data were used to capture both (1) children's vocal output to specific peers and teachers, and (2) the vocal input they received from those peers and teachers. Participants were 72 3–5‐year‐olds (Mage = 48.6 months, SD = 7.0, 43% girls) and their teachers. Children in the ASD group displayed lower engagement with peers, teachers, and tasks than children in the TD group; they also showed lower engagement with peers than children in the DD group. Overall, children's own vocalizations were positively associated with engagement with social partners. Thus, although children in the ASD group tend to have lower engagement scores than children in the TD group, active participation in vocal interactions appears to support their classroom engagement with teachers and peers.
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This content will become publicly available on February 1, 2026
Cross‐group contact predicts positive beliefs about girls’ and Black peers’ STEM abilities and occupational prospects
Abstract High‐quality forms of intergroup contact, such as cross‐group play and friendships, have been identified as particularly effective for promoting positive beliefs toward outgroup peers. Relations between children's cross‐group play experiences and their beliefs about peers’ math and science competencies and high‐status occupational prospects have not yet been examined. Understanding these relations is important given that children from minoritized groups continue to face exclusion and bias in these domains. The present study examined the associations between children's (N = 983,Mage = 9.64, SDage = .89) reported cross‐group play experiences and their math and science competency beliefs and high‐status occupation expectations about girls and Black peers. Results revealed that, for majority group participants (i.e., boys and White children), higher levels of cross‐group play were associated with significantly higher beliefs and expectations for girls and Black peers. Further, results demonstrated contexts in which higher levels of cross‐group play were positively associated with girls’ and Black children's beliefs and expectations for their own groups. Together, these findings advance theory and research on the benefits of cross‐group contact in childhood by highlighting novel outcomes to which cross‐group contact is positively related, as well as by showing that children from both minoritized and majority status groups stand to benefit from cross‐group contact.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1728918
- PAR ID:
- 10636164
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Social Development
- Volume:
- 34
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0961-205X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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