Introduction
The issue of ensuring security in modern educational institutions is extremely pressing and important in our country 1. This is due to the “complex geopolitical situation and new social challenges” (Baeva, 2012, p. 7) and a number of factors that lead to an increase in various emergency situations, including those occurring in schools (Baeva, Rubtsov, 2008). This issue is also “actively addressed in connection with the growing influence of mass media on society and the need to protect against the impact of information factors, manipulation, and psychological pressure 2. "
Taking into account the possible severity of the consequences of emergency situations and other negative impacts of external factors, educational organizations are faced with the task of ensuring the physical and psychological safety of students (Federal Law “On Education…”)3, and educational psychology is updating its scientific and practical goals related to studying the conditions and possibilities for creating favorable conditions for children’s development.
Among the most important areas of research in the psychology of educational safety today, alongside the study of emergency psychological assistance for children and adolescents, are the identification of risks associated with unfavorable and dangerous situations and the provision of psychological safety within the educational environment (Baeva, 2012). The latter area is extremely important, as “it is a safe educational environment that preserves an individual’s psychological safety” (Baeva, 2012, p. 5) and serves as a favorable condition for personal development.
One of the recognized approaches to ensuring psychological safety in the educational environment is I.A. Baeva’s approach, which defines it as “a state of the educational environment free from manifestations of psychological violence in interactions, facilitating the satisfaction of needs for personal and trusting communication, creating the referential significance of the environment, and ensuring the mental health of its participants” (Baeva, Semikin, 2005, p. 12). According to this understanding and the views of other researchers (V.V. Rubtsov, V.A. Yasvin, and others), one of the main components of psychological safety in the educational environment is the safety of relationships between participants in the educational process, including interactions between children and their peers.
Psychological literature contains a substantial body of research devoted to the problems of safe communication between primary school children, adolescents, and their peers, since frequent negative manifestations in the school environment (for example, bullying) not only lead to psychological trauma but also have a detrimental effect on a child’s development when they become the object of aggressive behavior (Baeva, 2012; Baeva, Gayazova, Kondakova, Laktionova, 2021; Stepanova, 2024; Kleiberg, Deulin, 2025; Volkova, 2025, etc.). It is precisely these research results that form the basis for developing measures aimed at working with children and adolescents and ensuring the necessary conditions for their safe communication with peers (Baeva, Rubtsov, 2008; Formation and …, 2022, etc.).
As V.V. Rubtsov noted, “a significant provision of the concept of psychological security of the individual and society is the anticipation and prevention of emerging threats, the desire to counter them at an early stage of their manifestation, that is, through a system of preventive measures.” He emphasized the need for continuous monitoring of this aspect of both the social environment and the individual. In his opinion, addressing this issue can be effective if it begins from the moment a person becomes a subject of the education system.4.
Therefore, the issue of ensuring psychological safety in the educational environment of preschool educational institutions is of particular importance. This is reflected in regulatory documents governing the activities of preschool educational organizations. For example, the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education, across all requirements for implementing educational programs, specifies the need to create “conditions that ensure the protection and strengthening of children’s physical and mental health” (FSES, Art. 3.2), including “protection of children from all forms of physical and mental violence” (FSES DO, Art. 3.2.1) and the organization of a safe “subject-spatial environment ensuring that all its elements meet the requirements of reliability and safety of use” (FSES DO, Art. 3.3.4), 5etc.
Preschool teachers and psychologists face great responsibility in creating an effective system that not only addresses the consequences of traumatic events and emergencies but, above all, anticipates and prevents emerging dangers. This is possible if reliable data are available that provide an up-to-date picture of how modern preschoolers interact with their peers, including key characteristics of these interactions and existing risks and threats that may lead to adverse consequences. Essentially, the nature of children’s peer interactions serves as one of the indicators of the psychological safety of the preschool educational environment (Kukushkina, 2022; Seryakova, 2024; Shalaginova, Dekina, 2025, etc.).
Therefore, prior to addressing practical issues, it appears necessary and important to analyze existing empirical studies of children’s communication and, if needed, to plan new research aimed at filling knowledge gaps related to this aspect of children’s lives. Since children’s communication with peers is a crucial component of the psychological safety of the preschool educational environment, the aim of this study was to determine its characteristics in modern preschoolers based on an analysis of Russian psychological and pedagogical literature.
Methods
The primary research method was a theoretical analysis of studies devoted to the problem of communication among modern preschoolers. The theoretical review was based on an analysis of published research results using the Google Scholar search engine, the Scientific Electronic Library eLIBRARY, and the Psyjournals.ru portal. Studies addressing the specifics of communication between modern preschoolers and their peers, the characteristics of this communication, as well as current challenges and risks, were selected. The search queries included the keywords “communication,” “communication with peers,” “modern preschooler,” “communication disorders risks,” “socialization,” and “preschool age.” The research covered publications from the last five years, from 2020 to 2025.
As a result, two publication arrays were formed: “Communication of preschoolers” (260 publications) and “Safety and culture of behavior of preschoolers” (312 publications) for the period from 2020 to 2025.
The next stage of selection was based on the criteria of full-text availability, the presence of reliable empirical research results, and the relevance of the article’s content to the characteristics of communication between modern preschoolers and their peers. Papers consisting of abstracts, descriptions of practical experience, or studies focused on conditions for the development of preschoolers’ communication were excluded. As a result, only four publications meeting all the identified criteria were retained for further analysis.
Results
The studies selected for analysis on preschoolers’ communication with peers involved older preschool-age children aged 5 to 7 years, with sample sizes ranging from 36 to 155 participants. The study of various aspects of communicative activity was primarily conducted using sociometric methods widely used in psychology, as well as techniques developed by M.I. Lisina, E.O. Smirnova, V.M. Kholmogorova, G.A. Zuckerman, G.R. Khuzeeva, A.M. Shchetinina, and others.
The data obtained were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The studies reviewed were conducted over the last four years, from 2021 to 2025, following the reopening of preschool institutions after the COVID-19 pandemic.
To achieve the research objectives, specific characteristics of children’s communication with peers were identified by the authors either on the basis of theoretical constructs (Grebennikova, 2021; Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2022) and/or in accordance with the focus of the methods used (Suslova, Shabatko, 2024; Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025). Thus, in the work of O.V. Grebennikova, which presents a study of the specific features of socialization of older preschool-age children in a peer group, socialization is defined as the child’s successful integration into the community and the effectiveness of their interactions with peers. O.V. Grebennikova identified criteria for assessing children’s interactions—four types of competencies (social, emotional, cognitive, and personal), the levels of which determine the content of three types of socialization: positive, diffuse, and negative. Each type is characterized by the child’s mastery of social norms, the ability to navigate and take into account the emotional states of others, the ability to recognize types of interactions and identify the causes of conflicts, as well as the ability to self-regulate and control interactions. These competencies essentially determine various characteristics of a child’s communication. However, each type of socialization and level of communication development is characterized by a different combination of the development levels of the identified competencies.
The work of N.S. Aleksandrova and O.A. Petushkova is based on a different theoretical construct—communicative speech skills, which determine the level of communication development in older preschoolers and are understood as “mastery of methods for navigating various communication situations based on the selection of communication content, planning, and delivery of speech when interacting with peers and adults” (Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2021, p. 113). These skills were assessed using four criteria: motivational, cognitive, operational, and reflective. Non-participant observation revealed children’s initiative, manifested in the desire “to attract a peer’s attention, to encourage joint activity through speech actions,” as well as “sensitivity—the manifestation of responses to a peer’s proposals for interaction and the coordination of the child’s actions with the peer’s actions in joint play activities” (ibid.). The motivational criterion was assessed using situational testing (M.I. Lisina’s method) and by identifying the predominance of a particular form of communication: situational-business, extra-situational-cognitive, or extra-situational-personal. To assess the cognitive criterion, the diagnostic situation method was used, and the level of dialogic speech development was determined (A.V. Chulkova). Indicators included “the child’s ability to use the rules of speech etiquette (greeting, introduction, request, apology, conflict resolution in play, addressing an adult; the child’s independence in requesting information)” (Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2021, p. 114).
The operational criterion was assessed based on the child’s ability to engage in partner dialogue (A.M. Shchetinina): “the ability to listen to the interlocutor’s information and negotiate with a partner; the ability to emotionally adapt to changing conditions and the experiences of the interaction partner” (ibid.). The reflective criterion of preschoolers’ communicative and speech skills was determined by the child’s ability to apply social intelligence “in communicative and speech situations drawn from the everyday life of children in an educational organization” (ibid.). For each criterion, characteristic manifestations in children’s behavior were described. The combination of levels across all criteria identified by the authors characterizes the level of communicative and speech skills development in older preschoolers.
In the study by O.V. Suvorova, T.A. Serebryakova, O.A. Kostina, and N.N. Sheshukova, devoted to preschoolers’ communication with peers and social adaptation, a number of parameters (15 for communication and 3 for social adaptation) were identified based on theoretical analysis. These parameters were assessed using specific indicators (behavioral manifestations) during structured observation. In practice, these parameters reflected characteristics of children’s communication with peers: interest in the peer, the purpose of communication, the variety of verbal and nonverbal means of communication, the ability to engage in prosocial behavior, emotional attitudes toward peers, etc. The observation results were supplemented with data from methods aimed at assessing the cognitive and emotional components of communication, as well as the level of social adaptation (A.I. Barkan). Ultimately, the integration of all parameters, taking into account the identified levels, allowed the authors to provide a fairly detailed description of various aspects of preschoolers’ communication with peers.
The development of interpersonal skills in older preschool children in interaction with peers was examined in the study by T.F. Suslova and E.M. Shabatko. The characteristics of interpersonal relationships and communication with peers in older preschoolers were described using three indicators that enabled evaluation through selected diagnostic methods: 1) the ability to build friendly relationships; 2) the ability to interact, including the development of “children’s skills of interaction and cooperation in a group when completing a certain task, the ability to listen, agree with each other, and find topics of interaction that are interesting not only to themselves but also to other children”; 3) the level of communicative competence, defined as “the ability to understand the feelings of others, take into account peers’ opinions, find ways out of conflict situations, and be active in group interaction” (Suslova, Shabatko, 2024, p. 156). The authors identified qualitative characteristics for each indicator and, based on the data obtained, distinguished three levels of development of positive interpersonal relationships in older preschoolers.
The similarity of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the studies under review (M.I. Lisina, E.O. Smirnova, V.M. Kholmogorova, et al.), as well as the partial use of identical diagnostic methods, made it possible to generalize the examined parameters of communication among modern older preschoolers and to formulate a corresponding description. At the same time, the results presented in the analyzed publications were taken into account; without exception, they indicate that a fairly large proportion of older preschoolers demonstrate low and average levels of peer communication: 26% and 39% (T.F. Suslova, E.M. Shabatko), 57% and 35% in terms of communicative and speech skills (N.S. Aleksandrova, O.A. Petushkova), 30% and 50% in terms of negative socialization (O.V. Grebennikova), and in the study by O.V. Suvorova et al., only 70% of children were found to have an average level of communication and social adaptation. Thus, the description is based on characteristics demonstrated by the majority of the examined preschoolers and corresponding to an average level of peer communication development (Grebennikova, 2021; Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2022; Suslova, Shabatko, 2024; Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025).
First, most older preschool-age children demonstrate a need for interaction with peers; however, they often exhibit a passive position in interaction, yielding to peers while at the same time expressing a desire for a broader social circle and a positive attitude toward leadership (Grebennikova, 2021, p. 58). Quite often, a typical pattern of behavior can be observed: children approach a group of peers and observe them, waiting for an invitation, without initiating games or conversations. These children are characterized by contacts of medium duration (5–10 minutes) (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025). Even when a child demonstrates initiative, it is often not persistent, and the child shows insufficient patience when listening to a partner (Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2022). For most children, play is the leading motive, but it is not associated with a clearly expressed need to play specifically with peers; toys and didactic games that do not require a role-playing repertoire come to the fore (Grebennikova, 2021). The goals of children’s communication cover a wide range: tactile contacts, self-reports about abilities and achievements, instructions, and playful cues; situational-business communication predominates (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025). Modern children do not always respond to peers’ invitations to participate in joint activities (Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2021).
Second, children frequently engage in interactions of moderate intensity, characterized by two to three exchanges, mostly short statements, a limited number of factual and cognitive questions, and playful remarks. Verbal communication is supplemented by nonverbal communication, both positive and negative (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025). Preschoolers generally possess knowledge of speech etiquette (greetings, introductions, requests, expressions of gratitude), but they use it more often when prompted by an adult. During conversation, frequent distractions from the topic are observed, and speech often lacks coherence, despite a sufficiently developed vocabulary that allows for maintaining a conversation (Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2022).
Third, children demonstrate a limited repertoire of effective communication skills. When attempting to initiate a game or conversation, they often speak without addressing anyone in particular, which makes their attempts effective only about half of the time (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025). In addition, many children are unable to maintain contact for a long time: they engage in play, move away after a few remarks, then return to the same child or group of children, continue the conversation for a few minutes, and then move away again (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025). In some cases, children show insufficient patience when listening to their partner (Aleksandrova, Petushkova, 2022). Interaction in joint activities is most often structured according to the “leader–subordinate” model, in which one child directs another (Suslova, Shabatko, 2024), or children adopt a competitive position (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025). Older preschoolers often choose negative strategies (such as intimidation and aggression) in interaction with peers (Grebennikova, 2021). When resolving conflict or problem situations, children tend to prefer either an aggressive response (primarily boys) or a passive one, expressed through complaints to an adult (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025).
Fourth, older preschoolers are characterized by positive or ambivalent attitudes toward peers; they do not demonstrate prosocial behavior or demonstrate it only in the presence of adults and at their request (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025; Grebennikova, 2021). When interacting with peers, children often fail to understand changes in their partner’s emotional states and feelings (Aleksandrova, 2022). At the same time, in children’s narratives about peers, alongside evaluative and practical judgments, there are “elements of perceiving the peer as an individual” (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025).
This description reflects the characteristics that determine the average level of communication development among modern older preschoolers in interaction with peers. However, taking into account the results presented in the reviewed publications, a slight negative trend toward a decline in the level of interaction development among children can be observed.
Discussion of results
A review and analysis of studies (more than five hundred at the stage of publication selection) devoted to preschoolers’ interactions with peers and their behavioral safety indicate that this issue has remained relevant over the past five years and has sustained stable interest among researchers and educational practitioners. However, full-text publications presenting comprehensive empirical studies are extremely rare. Research on various aspects of children’s interactions in preschool educational institutions is presented in diverse formats, including works by students and young researchers, thematic collections, abstracts, and summaries of conference and seminar reports. Publications addressing preschoolers’ behavioral safety and the psychological safety of the preschool educational environment are either theoretical works from earlier periods, aimed at formalizing methodological approaches (Kukushkina, 2022, 2023; Mirimanova, 2013), or developments focused on enhancing preschoolers’ communication with peers (Rovnaya, 2025), where the main emphasis is placed on substantiating effectiveness. This situation may be explained by the presence of objective methodological difficulties in conducting scientific research today and certain limitations of the methods available for working with preschool-age children.
The selected publications clearly have a number of limitations (such as the predominant use of non-formalized methods and the absence of mathematical statistical analysis). Nevertheless, they contain valuable and relevant information on the characteristics of communication between modern preschoolers and their peers, which, given these limitations, can be interpreted as indicating a negative trend in the development of this sphere of children’s lives. When compared with classic and fundamental studies on preschoolers’ communication with peers (The Development of Communication in Preschoolers…, 1989), the general picture of interaction in late preschool age and its main characteristics appear, at first glance, to have remained largely unchanged. However, the depiction of communication among modern children presented in the reviewed studies is perceived as rather negative and problematic. The identified characteristics pose certain risks to socialization and personal development, primarily affecting the psychological safety of preschoolers. This is facilitated by several quantitative and qualitative indicators identified by the authors, such as the predominance of situational-business communication, which is characteristic of younger age groups; the widespread use of tactile contact, playful cues, and self-referential statements, also typical of younger and middle preschool ages; the near absence of prosocial behavior (Suvorova, Serebryakova, Kostina, Sheshukova, 2025); and a relatively high proportion of negative socialization (Grebennikova, 2021). Of particular concern is the high percentage of children classified as having low and average levels of communication development, indicating that a significant number of older preschoolers have not sufficiently mastered the means and methods necessary for building effective and productive interactions with peers.
The results of the reviewed studies suggest the presence of barriers to the full realization of communication needs for a substantial proportion of children. Difficulties in building constructive relationships with peers, accepting rules of behavior that take into account the interests and needs of others, perceiving peers primarily as friends and partners, demonstrating empathy, and a pronounced tendency to submit to leaders may lead to future problems with prosocial behavior and the emergence of negative and destructive interaction patterns at later ages. Deficits in communicative actions and insufficient mastery of communication tools may result in children’s inability to independently interact with peers, establish positive interpersonal (friendly) relationships, disrupt successful socialization, or even lead to social isolation.
Within a kindergarten group, such communication characteristics are highly likely to pose risks to the psychological safety of the educational environment, contributing to group disunity, increased conflict and aggression, and a decline in the emotional well-being of each child. A lack of productive, active interaction with peers and difficulties in organizing communication often result in frequent aggressive behavior, which, for some modern preschoolers, becomes a primary means of communication in various interactions. This increases the likelihood of recurring conflicts within the group and poses a certain danger, potentially exerting an ambiguous influence on the social development of preschoolers. Hostility toward peers, conflict, and insufficient conflict resolution skills hinder group cohesion and positive socialization.
Since peer interaction is a crucial factor not only for successful socialization but also for personal development, certain characteristics of such interaction may lead to risks in the development of personality traits and the formation of psychologically significant qualities. These risks may manifest as increased anxiety and self-doubt, reduced self-esteem, lack of independence, proactivity, and initiative, as well as dependence on the opinions and decisions of others.
Conclusion
The results of the analysis of publications on the characteristics of modern preschoolers’ interactions with peers over the past five years indicate existing difficulties in ensuring the psychological safety of the preschool educational environment. The identified characteristics of children’s interactions point to the presence of certain problems and risks in this sphere of preschoolers’ lives, which may be associated with insufficient conditions for meeting their need for peer interaction. The depiction of children’s interactions presented in the reviewed publications suggests the need to optimize teachers’ efforts aimed at developing preschoolers’ interaction within the group, which will contribute to ensuring the psychological safety of the preschool educational environment.
At the same time, it is necessary to obtain more reliable and valid data and to comprehensively address the problem of psychological safety in preschool educational institutions. This requires the design and implementation of scientific research that will clarify the characteristics of modern preschoolers’ interactions with peers, identify the causes of existing interaction patterns, and develop and test a system of pedagogical measures aimed at addressing risks and challenges in the social sphere.
1 Rector of MSUPE V.V. Rubtsov (2007). On the Program "Psychology of the Safety of the Educational Environment and Psychological Support for Activities in Extreme Situations" / From the materials for the meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Education "Current State and Prospects for Developing the Problem of "Psychology of the Safety of the Educational Environment and Psychological Support for Activities in Extreme Situations " , https : // mgppu.ru/news/1200?ysclid=me0avvbak7236367370
2Ibid.
3Federal Law of 29.12.2012 No. 273-FZ "On Education in the Russian Federation".
4 Rector of MSUPE V.V. Rubtsov (2007). On the Program "Psychology of the Safety of the Educational Environment and Psychological Support for Activities in Extreme Situations" / From the materials for the meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Education "Current State and Prospects for Developing the Problem of "Psychology of the Safety of the Educational Environment and Psychological Support for Activities in Extreme Situations " , https : // mgppu.ru/news/1200?ysclid=me0avvbak7236367370
5Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated October 17, 2013 No. 1155 "On approval of the Federal State Educational Standard of Preschool Education."