Children's help‐seeking expectations during preschool years: The effects of situational stress levels and help‐seekers’ competence

Abstract

Help‐seeking is a common strategy for children to cope with daily stress. However, little is known as to how children make help‐seeking expectations during early development. The current study examined the effects of situational stress levels and help‐seekers’ competence on children's expectations of help‐seeking behavior and willingness from age 4 to 6. We manipulated situational stress levels and help‐seekers’ competence in a social expectation task. Children were tested to determine their expectations of help‐seeking behavior and willingness. Two hundred and twenty‐one Han Chinese children aged 4–6 from a city in East China participated in this study. We found that 5‐ to 6‐year‐olds expected the incompetent help‐seekers to seek support more than the competent help‐seekers regardless of situational stress levels. However, 4‐ to 5‐year‐olds made expectations as such only in the low‐stress condition. These results suggest that both situational stress levels and help‐seekers’ competence influence 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children's help‐seeking expectations, and the influence varies across ages.