The validity of interactive peer play competencies for Latino preschool children from low-income households

• Factor structure of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS) was examined.
• Large, statewide sample of Latino Head Start children participated.
• Three distinct and reliable dimensions replicated prior factor structure.
• Dimensions differentially associated with approaches to learning and pre-academic skills.
• Implications for use with diverse, low-income Latino children discussed.

In accord with a strength-based, eco-cultural model, the present study examined the validity of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale-Teacher report (PIPPS-T; Fantuzzo, Coolahan, Mendez, McDermott, & Sutton-Smith, 1998) for use with Latino preschool children from low-income backgrounds. Capitalizing upon a large, statewide sample of Latino children (N = 824, M age = 52.54 months (SD = 8.73)), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified three reliable and distinct dimensions of peer social competence: Play Interaction, Play Disruption, and Play Disconnection. Findings from multilevel models controlling for program, family, and child demographic variables, provided criterion-related validity for the three dimensions with some differential associations to concurrent assessments of children's learning-related and pre-academic skills at the end the Head Start year. Study findings extend prior research, supporting the utility of the PIPPS to assess the construct of peer social competence for Latino children from low-income backgrounds. Implications for early childhood research, practice, and policy are discussed.