This study investigated the impact that children’s satisfaction with Community Child Center
programs and their peer relations have on their psychosocial adjustment, and then it focused on
ways of enhancing the effectiveness of Community Child Centers and their roles as well as
improving the quality of services for children from low-income families.
Study areas cover children’s satisfaction with Community Child Center programs, their peer
relations and problem behaviors, and the relationship among children’s program satisfaction, peer
relations, and their social ability. Variables affecting children’s program satisfaction, peer
relations, and their psychosocial adjustment Variables affecting problem behaviors include social
withdrawal, thinking, and distraction; variables affecting social ability include sociability and
subscales of academic capability; which were used to examine variables related to the
relationship among children’s program satisfaction, peer relations, and their psychosocial
adjustment.
To measure program satisfaction, the study used scales translated and adapted by Suh
Young-Sook et al. (2000); to examine peer relations, scales translated and adjusted by Han
Mi-Hyun(1996). To measure variables affecting psychosocial adjustment, the study used
K-YSR(Korean version of Youth Self Report), developed by Achenbach(1991) and translated
and standardized by Oh Kyung-Ja et al. (1997). SPSS 17.0 was used in analyzing relationship
among variables and frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, T-test, variance analysis,
correlation analysis, and regression analysis followed.
Results of the study are as follows:
First, psychosocial adjustment level was relatively high among children who visit Community
Child Centers. Although these children are from low-income families with financial difficulties,
they appear to get positive influences in psychosocial adjustment due to emotional support from
their parents and siblings, care and education from after-school teachers at Community Child
Centers, socializing with friends, interest and understanding of the centers.
Second, in terms of the relationship among children’s satisfaction with Community Child
Center programs, peer relations, and their psychosocial adjustment, the more children at a
Community Child Center are satisfied with its program and the better they socialize with their
peers, the less likely they show problem behaviors and the higher their social ability is.
Third, it turned out that there is a positive relationship between children’s satisfaction with
Community Child Center programs and their peer relations. It is indicated that children’s
academic performance, peer relations, and satisfaction with various culture programs affect their
psychosocial adjustment.
Therefore, it is important that Community Child Centers develop quality programs by meeting
children’s needs as well as by providing care, education services and emotional and
psychological support, thus helping children better adjust to new social environments.
Results of this study have significance in that they noted the influence and importance of
children’s satisfaction with Community Child Center programs and their peer relations on
children’s psychosocial adjustment.