Longitudinal Study on Development of Coping Strategies for Early Childhood Conflicts Regarding Object Possession and Related Factors1

Children experience peer relationship conflicts related to object possession from early childhood. They achieve social–emotional development by adjusting mutual desires and overcoming conflicts using different conflict‐coping strategies. Conflict studies have examined the effects of conditions, such as who first owned an object, and strategies employed by children of varying age groups. On the other hand, longitudinal studies on this issue are rare. We examined children's conflict‐coping strategy development under different conditions about who possessed an object first using data from three time points in early childhood. The results showed no effects of conditions on three developmental patterns: strategy transition characterized by dependence on others, social strategy dominance characterized by autonomy, or emotional strategy dominance characterized by non‐autonomy. Logistic regression analysis indicated that gender and inhibitory control defined these patterns. Moreover, there was an interactional effect of family caregiving attitudes and opportunities for contact with peers. These results indicate the reciprocal influence of family caregiving and peer relationship on early childhood development related to conflict experiences.