Investigation of the relationship between competition styles and problem behaviors of preschool children

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between problem behaviors and competition styles in 48-72 month-old children attending preschool education. Material and Method: The study was conducted with 321 children aged 48-72 months attending kindergarten classes in official primary schools and independent kindergartens affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the central district of Malatya. The Personal Information Form, The Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scale (PKBS-2), and The Preschool Competition Questionnaire (PCQ) were used as the data collection tool in the study. The relational survey model, a quantitative research method, was used in the study. Data analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS software package. A t-test was applied to examine the differences between two groups. The ANOVA method was used to evaluate the differences between multiple groups. Correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between variables, and regression analysis was performed to examine the interaction, and the results were evaluated accordingly. Results: It has been found that while the average scores of children's problem behaviours differ in gender and the birth order, they don't differ in age, the number of children in a family and the education level of the parents. On the other hand, competitive styles showed significant differences based on age and the number of children in the family, but not by gender, birth order, or the education level of the parents. Conclusion: Correlation and regression analyses revealed that there is no relationship between problem behaviors and competitive styles, and that problem behaviors do not predict competitive styles. Keywords: Preschool Period, Problem Behaviors, Competitive Styles.