The present study observed 86 three-year-old children (M = 43.7, SD = 6.4) from 15 Swiss childcare groups, to investigate multiple individual and contextual contributions to toddlers’ positive engagement with peers. The children’s individual characteristics (age, sex and social skills) and childcare-related predictors (emotional and behavioural support from caregivers, and structural group features) were assessed. We employed the child-by-environment perspective and tested the hypothesis that high-quality behavioural and emotional support provided by caregivers benefits children with deficits in social abilities. Results of the multilevel structural equation modelling indicated that toddlers rated by caregivers as sociable and assertive showed more positive situation-specific peer engagement, especially with a concomitant higher quality of caregiver emotional and behavioural support. By contrast, being prosocial-cooperative was negatively associated with observed peer engagement. Thus, children’s social skills were found to be the most important factor for peer engagement in childcare settings. Important suggestions for future research are made, and practical implications are discussed.

本研究观察了86名三岁儿童（M = 43.7，SD= 6.4）来自15个瑞士育儿小组，以调查对幼儿与同伴积极互动的多种个人和背景贡献。评估了儿童的个人特征（年龄，性别和社交技能）和与儿童保育有关的预测因素（看护者的情感和行为支持以及结构性群体特征）。我们采用了“逐个环境”的观点，并检验了以下假设：照顾者提供的高质量行为和情感支持有益于社交能力不足的儿童。多层次结构方程模型的结果表明，被看护者评价为善于交往和果断的幼儿表现出更加积极的针对具体情况的同伴参与，尤其是伴随着更高质量的看护者的情感和行为支持。相比之下，亲社会合作与观察到的同伴参与负相关。因此，发现儿童的社交技能是同龄人参与育儿环境的最重要因素。提出了对未来研究的重要建议，并讨论了实际意义。