Emotional Competence, Emotion Socialization, and Young Children's Peer-Related Social Competence

This study investigated linkages between aspects of emotional competence and preschoolers' social skills with peers. Whether parental emotion socialization practices contributed to the prediction of social skill once emotional competence was statistically controlled was also of interest. Eighty-one predominantly Caucasian preschoolers were videotaped as they participated in three same-sex triadic peer situations. Four peer variables were coded from the videotapes: social initiations, the frequency with which children were the targets of positive social bids, non-constructive anger-related reactions, and prosocial acts. The emotional competence measures included situation knowledge, children's explanations of emotions, positivity of emotional expression during peer play, and emotional intensity. Maternal anger directed at the child was the measure of emotion socialization. Results revealed that the emotional competence variables were meaningfully related to the peer variables and that, for non-constructive anger reactions, maternal reports of anger explained unique variance. Results are discussed in terms of how emotional competence and emotion socialization contribute to peer behavior and the importance of designing and implementing affective intervention programs for young children and their families.     

Understanding the role of private speech in children's emotion regulation

Self-regulation includes both cognitive and affective components, but few researchers have investigated how these components interact to better explain self-regulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate how children's private speech, which is typically related to cognitive ability, was utilized during an emotion-eliciting task. By examining the social and private speech that occurred as children coped with a frustration task, a better understanding of how children regulate their emotional displays can be achieved. Children's speech, emotional expressions (sadness and anger), and emotion regulation strategies (distraction and self-comforting) were coded during a frustration task completed by preschool-aged children (N = 116). Children's social speech to mothers and private speech were transcribed. Children's private speech was categorized according to five mutually exclusive categories: vocalizations, inaudible muttering, task-irrelevant, negatively valenced task-relevant, or facilitative task-relevant. Sadness was associated with more social speech and negatively valenced task-relevant private speech, whereas anger was associated with less distraction and facilitative task-relevant private speech and more vocalizations and negatively valenced task-relevant private speech. Additionally, private speech predicted unique variance beyond that explained by the emotion regulation strategies and moderated the relations of emotion regulation strategies to both anger and sadness. These empirical findings support theoretical propositions that language is a factor in children's emotion regulation. The implications of these findings include support for the encouragement of private speech in the classroom because of its relation to emotional, in addition to cognitive, regulatory functions.     

Young Children's Understanding of the Causes of Anger and Sadness

This study investigated kindergarten children's understanding of the causes of anger and sadness. Previous research has shown that before 6 or 7 years of age, children have difficulty distinguishing hypothetical situations designed to evoke anger from those designed to evoke sadness. In this project, 80 kindergarten children (ages 5-1 to 6-5, M = 5-10) predicted and explained protagonists' emotional responses to a variety of hypothetical events. The results showed that intentional harm was not the feature young children used to distinguish anger from sadness. Children predicted anger most often when they believed that protagonists could change undesirable situations and reinstate their goals and when children focused on the person or conditions that brought about undesirable situations. Children predicted sadness most often when they believed that goal reinstatement was impossible and focused on the losses that would ensue as a result.     

Coping with background anger in early childhood

Normative patterns, individual styles, and developmental changes in coping with background anger (anger between others) were examined in preschoolers. Live models expressed verbalized anger toward each other while pairs of same-sex friends played in an adjacent room. 85 4- and 5-year-olds participated, playing took place in the presence of mothers, and a 7-episode sequence of background conditions (no emotion, positive, no emotion, anger, no emotion, positive, no emotion) described the experimental situation. Children were also interviewed concerning their feelings during others' anger. Preschoolers evidenced heightened arousal, that is, greater distress, social sharing, preoccupation, and positive affect, concurrent with exposure to background anger. Increased verbal aggressiveness in play occurred in the period following exposure. Coping styles initially identified from behavioral emotional responses to the adults' quarrel were further delineated by contrasts on other aspects of functioning. Concerned emotional responders (46%) showed negative emotions concurrent with exposure, and later reported that they had felt sad during the fight and wanted to intervene. Unresponsive children (15%) showed no evidence of emotion, but later reported that they were angry. Ambivalent responders (35%) showed high emotional arousal during exposure, typified by both positive and negative emotions. Later they reported feeling happy but disregulated and were most likely to become physically and verbally aggressive in play with a friend. Analyses on a subsample (N = 43) also seen as toddlers showed that responses to background anger changed markedly, but precursors of preschoolers' coping styles were evident in toddlers' behavioral responses.     

Parent Engagement and School Readiness: Effects of the Getting Ready Intervention on Preschool Children's Social–Emotional Competencies

Research Findings: Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschool children, and relationships between families and professionals are an important contributor to school readiness. Furthermore, social–emotional competence is a key component of young children's school readiness. This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention (Getting Ready) designed to facilitate school readiness among disadvantaged preschool children, with a particular focus on social–emotional outcomes. Two hundred and twenty children were involved over the 4-year study period. Statistically significant differences were observed between treatment and control participants in the rate of change over a 2-year period on teacher reports for certain interpersonal competencies (i.e., attachment, initiative, and anxiety/withdrawal). In contrast, no statistically significant differences between groups over a 2-year period were noted for behavioral concerns (anger/aggression, self-control, or behavioral problems) as a function of the Getting Ready intervention. Practice or Policy: The intervention appears to be particularly effective at building social–emotional competencies beyond the effects experienced as a function of participation in Head Start programming alone. Limitations and implications for future research are reviewed.     

Teachers’ Social–Emotional Capacity: Factors Associated With Teachers’ Responsiveness and Professional Commitment

Research Findings: Early care and education has pronounced implications for young children’s social-emotional learning. Although program structural and classroom process quality indicators have been widely explored, teachers’ personal social–emotional capacity has only recently been recognized as an indicator of quality. This study reviewed and identified indicators of teachers’ social-emotional capacity and established a two factor structure of psychological load and coping abilities. We also explored correlational associations between teachers’ social-emotional capacity and their professional commitment and responsiveness to children’s negative emotions. The sample consisted of 1,129 teachers in center-based child-care programs and public preschools in the US. We found that teachers’ psychological load (depression, stress and emotional exhaustion) was associated with teachers’ negative reactions to children and teachers’ professional commitment after controlling for a wide range of teacher/classroom characteristics. Conversely, teachers’ coping abilities (reappraisal emotion regulation and problem-focused coping strategies) were related to their positive reactions to children’s negative emotions. Practice or Policy: The findings suggest further studies to identify training and professional development program components that might address early childhood teachers’ psychological difficulties and coping strategies. Child-care programs may also need efforts that support teachers’ social–emotional capacity as a way to improve teachers’ responsiveness and professional commitment.     

Searching for Dumbledore: A reflection upon the outcomes of a tailored emotional literacy programme on three key stage 2 children

Some children may only be able to express feelings of anxiety, frustration, stress or sadness through angry behaviours, which may prove challenging for schools (Barnes et al., 2016; Shechtman and Tutian, 2016). This is problematic when considered in relation to research evidence highlighting the negative impact such behaviours may have upon social relationships and academic outcomes (Sloan et al., 2017). The aims of this study were to explore whether a tailored emotional literacy programme can be used effectively to extend children's emotional lexicon and strategies for the self‐management of behaviours. Three children with social‐emotional difficulties were taught in twelve weekly sessions. The findings from this study suggests the positive benefits of using a programme tailored to meet a child's specific needs (rather than a programme without any adaptations), which may be an effectual tool in supporting children to change established patterns of negative behaviours.     

Parental coping with children's negative emotions: relations with children's emotional and social responding

This study examined the relation between parents' reactions to children's negative emotions and social competence. Additionally, the role of parental emotional distress in children's emotional socialization was examined. The emotional reactions of 57 preschoolers (33 girls, 24 boys; M age = 59.2 months) were observed during their free-play interactions. Parents (mostly mothers) completed questionnaires about their reactions to children's negative emotions. An index of children's social competence was obtained from teachers. Results indicated that the relation between harsh parental coping strategies and children's emotional responding was moderated by parental distress. In addition, the relation of the interaction of parental coping and distress to children's social competence was mediated by children's level of emotional intensity. It was concluded that distressed parents who use harsh coping strategies in response to children's negative emotions have children who express emotion in relatively intense ways. In turn, these children find it relatively difficult to behave in a socially competent manner.     

The Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Educator: Self-Reflective Journaling

A current interest in education is the growing awareness that the development of social and emotional skills in children is critical for the foundation of academic knowledge in the classroom. The early childhood educator is in a position to be a powerful nurturer of the social emotional development in young children. It is important, therefore, to challenge early childhood teachers, particularly veteran teachers, to take a closer look at their own social and emotional skills and to systematically reassess these skills through an emotionally intelligent “lens”. The field of emotional intelligence is a new and exciting area of academic research that looks at emotional abilities within the following four domains: (1) perception skills; (2) accessing skills; (3) understanding skills; and (4) regulation skills. This article presents a userfriendly methodology to assess and enhance the emotional intelligence abilities of teachers, and thereby impact the abilities of the young children they teach.     

5~6岁幼儿对四种基本情绪相关词汇的理解和运用

儿童理解和运用情绪词汇的水平对其情绪理解与表达有重要影响。本研究运用自编的用于描述高兴、悲伤、愤怒、恐惧四种基本情绪的词汇表(共59个情绪词汇),通过准实验研究测量5~6岁幼儿对情绪词汇的理解和运用情况。结果发现,5~6岁幼儿能理解描述这四种基本情绪的词汇约33个,其中“高兴”12个、“悲伤”9个、“愤怒”7个、“恐惧”5个;能运用描述这四种基本情绪的词汇约6个,其中“高兴”2个、“悲伤”2个、“愤怒”1个、“恐惧”1个。5~6岁幼儿理解描述高兴的情绪词汇显著多于描述悲伤、愤怒和恐惧的情绪词汇;运用描述高兴的情绪词汇显著多于描述愤怒和恐惧的情绪词汇;运用描述悲伤和愤怒的情绪词汇显著多于描述恐惧的情绪词汇;运用描述高兴和悲伤的情绪词汇不存在显著差异。5~6岁幼儿对这四种基本情绪词汇的理解和运用没有明显的性别差异。教师和家长应关注幼儿对情绪词汇的理解与运用,并通过为幼儿创设支持性的学习环境,促进其情绪词汇理解和运用能力的发展。     

Managing emotion in a maltreating context: a pilot study examining child neglect

OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of this pilot study was to examine emotion management skills (i.e., emotional understanding, emotion regulation) in children who had experienced neglect and a control group to determine the ways that neglect may interfere with children's emotional development. METHOD: Participants included children 6--12 years of age and their mothers (neglect group, N=24; control, N=24). Participants completed questionnaires and an interview that assessed children's emotional understanding and emotion regulation. RESULTS: Findings indicated that neglected children, compared to their non-maltreated peers, demonstrated lower understanding of negative emotions (i.e., anger, sadness) and fewer adaptive emotion regulation skills. Further, neglected children expected less support and more conflict from mothers in response to displays of negative emotion and reported that they were more likely to attempt to inhibit the expression of negative emotion. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that neglect may interfere with the normal acquisition of emotional understanding and emotion regulation skills, highlighting the importance of addressing these skills in the context of clinical intervention with neglected children.     

First Do No Harm: Emotional Maltreatment in the Classroom

Emotional maltreatment of children is occurring in classrooms daily and professionals sometimes are unaware of it. We are bound by a Code of Ethics, which states that we have a responsibility to intervene when children are harmed. Most professionals are unaware of how emotional maltreatment looks in the classroom and what they can do to prevent it. We have addressed what emotional maltreatment look like in the classroom and what teachers and parents can do to help to change this frequently occurring situation. The editorial presents a scenario of a first grade child who is experiencing emotional maltreatment in the classroom and strategies for parents and professionals to use when they observe emotional maltreatment in the classroom.     

Emotional development in children with different attachment histories: the first three years

The development of fear, anger, and joy was examined in 112 children using a longitudinal design. Children were observed at 9, 14, 22, and 33 months in standard laboratory episodes designed to elicit fear, anger, or joy. At 14 months, mother-child attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation. The attachment groups (avoidant, secure, resistant, and disorganized/unclassifiable) differed in the trajectories of emotional development, with the differences first apparent at 14 months of age. Resistant children were the most fearful and least joyful, and fear was their strongest emotion. More than secure children, they responded with distress even in episodes designed to elicit joy. When examined longitudinally, over the second and third years, secure children became significantly less angry. In contrast, insecure children's negative emotions increased: Avoidant children became more fearful, resistant children became less joyful, and disorganized/unclassifiable children became more angry. Higher attachment security uniquely predicted that at 33 months, children would show less fear and anger in episodes designed to elicit fear and anger, and less distress in episodes designed to elicit joy, even in conservative regression analyses controlling for all the earlier emotion scores.     

Young Children's Reasoning About the Effects of Emotional and Physiological States on Academic Performance

This study assessed young children's understanding of the effects of emotional and physiological states on cognitive performance. Five, 6-, 7-year-olds, and adults ( N = 96) predicted and explained how children experiencing a variety of physiological and emotional states would perform on academic tasks. Scenarios included: (a) negative and positive emotions, (b) negative and positive physiological states, and (c) control conditions. All age groups understood the impairing effects of negative emotions and physiological states. Only 7-year-olds, however, showed adult-like reasoning about the potential enhancing effects of positive internal states and routinely cited cognitive mechanisms to explain how internal states affect performance. These results shed light on theory-of-mind development and also have significance for children's everyday school success.     

Fostering the social and emotional development of gifted children through guided viewing of film

Teachers of gifted elementary school students seek strategies appropriate for fostering healthy social and emotional development in children. The authors propose guided viewing of film as a strategy through which teachers and counselors may assist young gifted students in gaining helpful insights to deal with problems they face. This article presents a theoretical foundation for this approach, a variety of strategies for implementation, and a collection of films appropriate for use with gifted students.     

An attributional analysis of students' interactions: The social consequences of perceived responsibility

Recent research on why some children are disliked by their classmates, why students do or do not help one another, and how children manage to get along with teachers and classmates is reviewed in this article. A motivational approach focusing on attribution theory is used to examine these questions. Inferences of responsibility and feelings of anger and sympathy are documented to impact students' negative social responses (rejection and neglect) as well as their willingness to help their classmates. Students' understanding of the responsibility-emotion-behavior links is proposed to influence their self-presentation strategies, such as excuse giving and seeking social approval.     

Display Rules for Anger, Sadness, and Pain: It Depends on Who Is Watching

This study examined factors that may influence children's decisions to control or express their emotions including type of emotion (anger, sadness, physical pain), type of audience (mother, father, peer, alone), age, and sex. Children's reported use of display rules, reasons for their decisions, and reported method of expression were examined. Subjects were 32 boys and 32 girls in each of the first ( M = 7.25 years old), third ( M = 9.33 years old), and fifth grades ( M = 11.75 years old). Regardless of the type of emotion experienced, children reported controlling their expression of emotion significantly more in the presence of peers than when they were with either their mother or father or when they were alone. Younger children reported expressing sadness and anger significantly more often than did older children, and girls were more likely than boys to report expressing sadness and pain. Children's primary reason for controlling their emotional expressions was the expectation of a negative interpersonal interaction following disclosure.     

I'm Happy with My Mommy: Low-Income Preschoolers' Causal Attributions for Emotions

This study examined low-income African American and European American preschoolers' socioemotional causal attributions. Forty-seven Young (M = 48 months) and Old (M = 62 months) preschoolers were asked to justify a puppet's current emotion and to talk about their past emotional experiences. Responses were coded for Causal Theme and Clarity. Old preschoolers were twice as likely to attribute interpersonal themes, and Young preschoolers were 4 times more likely to generate causal themes that were uncodeable. In terms of clarity, children provided clearer responses for anger and fear than they did for happiness. Old preschoolers' explanations for emotions were clearer than young preschoolers' and young African Americans', who had the most difficulty explaining emotions. Results indicate that younger preschoolers, particularly young African Americans, may need help articulating emotions. Suggestions for how adults can scaffold preschoolers' emotional reasoning are discussed.     

South Korean mothers’ beliefs regarding aggression and social withdrawal in preschoolers

South Korean mothers’ reactions to preschoolers’ aggression and social withdrawal were examined within a cultural framework. With recent social, political, and cultural changes in South Korea, there appears to be a conflict between traditional values and the Confucian heritage on one hand, and Western influence on the other. Mothers (N = 81) of preschoolers from Seoul reported their emotional reactions, causal attributions, socialization strategies, and socialization goals that were endorsed in response to these behaviors. Mothers reacted with negative emotions to both child aggression and social withdrawal, with more anger, disgust and embarrassment for aggression. Mothers also believed that aggression was due to external causes, and less stable than social withdrawal. High-powered and directive strategies were provided more often in response to aggression than social withdrawal, whereas lower-powered/indirect strategies were favored for social withdrawal over aggression. Finally, mothers were more likely to suggest parent- and social-centered goals for aggression, and child-centered goals for social withdrawal, indicating the increasing influence of westernized child developmental information on South Korean mothers. The significance of changing cultural norms and conventions in South Korean mothers’ perceptions and evaluations of maladaptive behaviors in children was supported.