Social-emotional competence and friendships: prosocial behaviour and lack of behavioural self-regulation as predictors of quantity and quality of friendships in middle childhood

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the follow-up effects of certain components of children‟s social-emotional competence (e.g., prosocial behaviour and lack of behavioural self-regulation) and characteristics of friendship in terms of positive and negative qualities and extent of friendship network. Participants included 177 children attending two primary schools in North-West Italy. During the first wave, they ranged in age from 6 to 9 years (M=7.10, SD=0.38; 48% female). The second wave was collected one year later. Structural equation modelling indicated that prosocial behaviour was positively associated with both qualitatively and quantitatively positive aspects of friendships: children higher in prosocial behaviours were also higher in positive quality of friendship and in number of friends than the others. Furthermore, the lack of behavioural self-regulation was positively associated with negative quality of friendship, meaning that children higher in the lack of self-regulation were also higher in negative quality of friendships as conflicts. These associations did not vary by genders.