Commentary on the review of measures of early childhood social and emotional development: Conceptualization, critique, and recommendations

Abstract

This compilation of five papers provides commentary from researchers devoted to the study of a variety of components that contribute to the broader domain of social and emotional development in early childhood. These components include social competence, emotional competence, behavior problems, self-regulation, and executive function. Each section provides a general definition of the construct, highlighting how it fits in a broader model of social and emotional development, and summarizing its relationship with a range of developmental outcomes. The papers then address developmental and contextual issues that are essential to consider when selecting a measurement tool for social and emotional development in early childhood, and discuss the field of extant measures available for each area of development. Presented intentionally as a part of a single paper, these contributions together provide a comprehensive response to the review, methods, and recommendations presented by Halle and Darling-Churchill (in this issue).