Does self-regulation mediate the relation between parent–child relationships and peer acceptance during early childhood?

Peer acceptance is an important facet of child development. Much of the previous research focused on peer acceptance during the elementary school years, so more work is needed to understand peer acceptance and its antecedents during the preschool years. The goal of this study was to test the extent to which children’s self-regulation mediates the association between parent–child relationships and peer acceptance during the preschool years in our sample of 134 4- and 5-year-old children. Two mediation models were tested via a structural equation modeling approach using path analysis. Contrary to predictions, results were not consistent with mediation but rather indicated that parent–child closeness and children’s self-regulation are significant direct predictors of children’s peer acceptance and that age significantly predicts children’s self-regulation. These results contribute to the literature regarding factors that predict peer acceptance during early childhood and have implications for children, families, and professionals who support young children’s development.