Children's Emotional Competence Research Articles

Victimization, Bullying, and Emotional Competence: Longitudinal Associations in (Pre)Adolescents With and Without Developmental Language Disorder.

Victimization is a common problem for many children but is exacerbated for children with a developmental language disorder (DLD). However, the severity of communication problems does not explain their victimization rates. In children without DLD, difficulties with emotional competence are a risk factor for victimization and also increase the risk of bullying. In this longitudinal study, we examined the extent to which the level and development of emotional competence (understanding of one's own emotions and levels of anger, sadness, and fear) contributed to the prediction of victimization and bullying in children with and without DLD, over and above the type and severity of communication problems of children with DLD. Clinically referred youngsters (8-16 years old) with (n = 112; 48% girls, 52% boys) and without (n = 233; 58% girls, 42% boys) DLD completed self-reports 3 times over an 18-month period. Parents of children with DLD reported on their children's communication problems. Participants with DLD reported more victimization but comparable levels of bullying behavior compared with peers without DLD. Higher levels of sadness and fear were risk factors for more victimization in both groups. Better understanding of one's own emotions had a larger effect on less victimization in children with DLD, independent of their communication problems. In addition, increased levels of anger and lower levels of understanding of one's own emotions explained more bullying in both groups. Outcomes indicate that secondary difficulties in emotional competence in children with DLD make these children more vulnerable to victimization and warrant specific support and interventions.

Children's emotion understanding in relation to attachment to mother and father.

Although attachment plays a key role in children's socio-emotional development, little attention has been paid to the role of children's attachment to their father. This study examined whether insecure attachment to each parent was associated with reduced emotion understanding in children and whether children showed consistent attachments to their mother and father. We measured children's attachment to each parent using the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task and child emotion understanding using the Test of Emotion Comprehension (children's Mage =5.64years, SD=0.84). The results indicated that insecure father-child attachment and insecure mother-child attachment were each associated with lower emotion understanding in children after controlling for parent's depressive symptoms and children's age. There was significant concordance of child attachment to mother and father. The findings provide support for convergence of children's attachment across parents and suggest that father-child attachment is an important factor to consider when examining children's emotion understanding. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject Secure mother-child attachment is positively associated with children's emotional competence. Children form similar representations of attachment to their mother and father. What the present study adds Both mother-child and father-child attachment are associated with children's emotion understanding. The study's findings highlight the importance of father-child attachment in their children's emotion understanding. The study provides support for concordance of children's attachment across parents.

Children's emotional experience two years after an earthquake: An exploration of knowledge of earthquakes and associated emotions

A major earthquake has a potentially highly traumatic impact on children’s psychological functioning. However, while many studies on children describe negative consequences in terms of mental health and psychiatric disorders, little is known regarding how the developmental processes of emotions can be affected following exposure to disasters.ObjectivesWe explored whether and how the exposure to a natural disaster such as the 2012 Emilia Romagna earthquake affected the development of children’s emotional competence in terms of understanding, regulating, and expressing emotions, after two years, when compared with a control group not exposed to the earthquake. We also examined the role of class level and gender.MethodThe sample included two groups of children (n = 127) attending primary school: The experimental group (n = 65) experienced the 2012 Emilia Romagna earthquake, while the control group (n = 62) did not. The data collection took place two years after the earthquake, when children were seven or ten-year-olds. Beyond assessing the children’s understanding of emotions and regulating abilities with standardized instruments, we employed semi-structured interviews to explore their knowledge of earthquakes and associated emotions, and a structured task on the intensity of some target emotions.ResultsWe applied Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Exposure to the earthquake did not influence the understanding and regulation of emotions. The understanding of emotions varied according to class level and gender. Knowledge of earthquakes, emotional language, and emotions associated with earthquakes were, respectively, more complex, frequent, and intense for children who had experienced the earthquake, and at increasing ages.ConclusionsOur data extend the generalizability of theoretical models on children’s psychological functioning following disasters, such as the dose-response model and the organizational-developmental model for child resilience, and provide further knowledge on children’s emotional resources related to natural disasters, as a basis for planning educational prevention programs.

The Effects of Classroom-wide Positive Behavior Support on the Challenging Behaviors, Social emotional competence of Children without disabilities and At-Risk Child in Day Care Center

The Effects of Classroom-wide Positive Behavior Support on the Challenging Behaviors, Social emotional competence of Children without disabilities and At-Risk Child in Day Care Center

Pacifier Overuse and Conceptual Relations of Abstract and Emotional Concepts.

This study explores the impact of the extensive use of an oral device since infancy (pacifier) on the acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotional concepts. While recent evidence showed a negative relation between pacifier use and children's emotional competence (Niedenthal et al., 2012), the possible interaction between use of pacifier and processing of emotional and abstract language has not been investigated. According to recent theories, while all concepts are grounded in sensorimotor experience, abstract concepts activate linguistic and social information more than concrete ones. Specifically, the Words As Social Tools (WAT) proposal predicts that the simulation of their meaning leads to an activation of the mouth (Borghi and Binkofski, 2014; Borghi and Zarcone, 2016). Since the pacifier affects facial mimicry forcing mouth muscles into a static position, we hypothesize its possible interference on acquisition/consolidation of abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional concepts, which are mainly conveyed during social and linguistic interactions, than of concrete concepts. Fifty-nine first grade children, with a history of different frequency of pacifier use, provided oral definitions of the meaning of abstract not-emotional, abstract emotional, and concrete words. Main effect of concept type emerged, with higher accuracy in defining concrete and abstract emotional concepts with respect to abstract not-emotional concepts, independently from pacifier use. Accuracy in definitions was not influenced by the use of pacifier, but correspondence and hierarchical clustering analyses suggest that the use of pacifier differently modulates the conceptual relations elicited by abstract emotional and abstract not-emotional. While the majority of the children produced a similar pattern of conceptual relations, analyses on the few (6) children who overused the pacifier (for more than 3 years) showed that they tend to distinguish less clearly between concrete and abstract emotional concepts and between concrete and abstract not-emotional concepts than children who did not use it (5) or used it for short (17). As to the conceptual relations they produced, children who overused the pacifier tended to refer less to their experience and to social and emotional situations, use more exemplifications and functional relations, and less free associations.

신체접촉놀이 활동이 유아의 또래상호작용 및 정서조절능력에 미치는 영향

신체접촉놀이 활동이 유아의 또래상호작용 및 정서조절능력에 미치는 영향

Teachers' dispositional mindfulness and the quality of their relationships with children in Head Start classrooms

The quality of teachers' relationships with children is a key predictor of children's later social emotional competence and academic achievement. Interventions to increase mindfulness among teachers have focused primarily on the impacts on teachers' subjective well-being, but not on the quality of their relationships with children. Furthermore, none of these interventions have involved preschool teachers. To consider the potential of mindfulness-based interventions to improve the quality of teachers' relationships with preschool-aged children, we examined data from an online survey of 1001 classroom teachers in 37 Pennsylvania Head Start Programs. Using path analysis we investigated the association between teachers' dispositional mindfulness and the quality of their relationships with children (conflict and closeness). We further examined whether this association was mediated by teacher depressive symptoms and moderated by perceived workplace stress. Higher levels of dispositional mindfulness among teachers were associated with higher quality relationships with children (less conflict and greater closeness). The association between greater dispositional mindfulness and less conflict was partially mediated by lower depressive symptoms, and the conditional direct effect of mindfulness on conflict was stronger when perceived workplace stress was lower. These findings suggest that preschool teachers who have higher levels of dispositional mindfulness may experience higher quality relationships with children in their classrooms. Interventions to increase levels of dispositional mindfulness among early childhood educators may improve their well-being along with the quality of their relationships with children, potentially impacting children's educational outcomes. The potential impacts of such interventions may be even stronger if structural and systemic changes are also made to reduce workplace stress.

Measuring social-emotional development in middle childhood: The Middle Years Development Instrument

This paper discusses the conceptualization, development, validation, and application of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) – a population-based child self-report tool that assesses children's social-emotional development and well-being in the context of their home, school, and neighborhood. The MDI is administered at a population-level to 4th and 7th grade students within participating public school districts across British Columbia, Canada. Children respond to items in five domains: (1) social-emotional development, (2) connectedness to peers and adults, (3) school experiences, (4) physical health and well-being, and (5) constructive use of after-school time. Results are aggregated for schools and communities and reported back in comprehensive reports and community maps to inform planning and decision making at local and regional levels. Shared testimonials exemplify how MDI results have been used by educators, community organizers, and city planners as a catalyst for promoting children's social and emotional competence and facilitating collaboration between schools and communities.

Strategies that Support Kindergarten Children's Social and Emotional Development: One Teacher's Approach

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE strategies employed by one kindergarten teacher, Kyra, to create a classroom where the relationships, play situations and environments worked synergistically to support children's social and emotional competencies. The data is drawn from a larger study, undertaken in 2009, that used qualitative methodology to examine how teachers were supporting kindergarten children's social and emotional development. Out of the eight participants from the original study, Kyra's pedagogical approach was found to be unique in that it provided increased opportunities for the development and consolidation of strategic processes that are essential for independent thinking and learning. It was found that these opportunities were fostered through a balanced provision of relationships, play and environments. Collectively, these elements created a context in which scientific and everyday concepts could connect. The children in this classroom were observed to demonstrate higher order thinking skills more often and seemingly more independently than the children in the other classrooms.

Families that fire together smile together: Resting state connectome similarity and daily emotional synchrony in parent-child dyads

Despite emerging evidence suggesting a biological basis to our social tiles, our understanding of the neural processes which link two minds is unknown. We implemented a novel approach, which included connectome similarity analysis using resting state intrinsic networks of parent-child dyads as well as daily diaries measured across 14 days. Intrinsic resting-state networks for both parents and their adolescent child were identified using independent component analysis (ICA). Results indicate that parents and children who had more similar RSN connectome also had more similar day-to-day emotional synchrony. Furthermore, dyadic RSN connectome similarity was associated with children's emotional competence, suggesting that being neurally in-tune with their parents confers emotional benefits. We provide the first evidence that dyadic RSN similarity is associated with emotional synchrony in what is often our first and most essential social bond, the parent-child relationship.

The Relationship between Fathers’ Parenting Attitudes and Their Child’s Emotional Competence for Taiwan Example

Children's emotional competence development is mainly influenced by their caretakers. The old days when mothers were the main caretakers of their children have passed. There have been more and more fathers taking care of their children personally. This study aims to explore the relationship between fathers’ parenting attitudes and their child’s emotional competence. A survey was conducted with the “Fathers’ Parenting Attitudes Scale” and the “Children’s Emotional Competence Scale”, with the subjects being the children from the preschools in Taiwan and their father selected using the snowball sampling method. The result shows that the relationships between fathers’ parenting attitudes and various aspects of children’s emotional competence are all not significant. It seems that the traditional Chinese concept of “fathers being stern and mothers being benevolent” still remains nowadays.

음악과 신체표현을 통합한 예술경험활동이 유아의 정서능력 및 창의적 신체표현에 미치는 효과

음악과 신체표현을 통합한 예술경험활동이 유아의 정서능력 및 창의적 신체표현에 미치는 효과

The role of emotion regulation for coping with school-based peer-victimisation in late childhood

The current research examined the role of two emotion regulation processes, cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression, on maladaptive victimisation coping following school-based peer-victimisation in late childhood (n=443). The relationship between emotion regulation and maladaptive coping was also tested for serial mediation effects, linking peer-victimisation and school loneliness. Results showed that poor emotion regulation in children was positively associated with maladaptive peer-victimisation coping. Moreover, the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and maladaptive coping was found to mediate the relationship between peer-victimisation experiences and school loneliness. These findings have implications for the development of school-based peer-victimisation intervention strategies that focus on improving children's emotional competencies.

A Synthesis of Relevant Literature on the Development of Emotional Competence: Implications for Design of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems.

Emotional competence refers to the ability to identify, respond to, and manage one's own and others' emotions. Emotional competence is critical to many functional outcomes, including making and maintaining friends, academic success, and community integration. There appears to be a link between the development of language and the development of emotional competence in children who use speech. Little information is available about these issues in children who rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). In this article, we consider how AAC systems can be designed to support communication about emotions and the development of emotional competence. Because limited research exists on communication about emotions in a context of aided AAC, theory and research from other fields (e.g., psychology, linguistics, child development) is reviewed to identify key features of emotional competence and their possible implications for AAC design and intervention. The reviewed literature indicated that the research and clinical attention to emotional competence in children with disabilities is encouraging. However, the ideas have not been considered specifically in the context of aided AAC. On the basis of the reviewed literature, we offer practical suggestions for system design and AAC use for communication about emotions with children who have significant disabilities. Three key elements of discussing emotions (i.e., emotion name, reason, and solution) are suggested for inclusion in order to provide these children with opportunities for a full range of discussion about emotions. We argue that supporting communication about emotions is as important for children who use AAC as it is for children who are learning speech. This article offers a means to integrate information from other fields for the purpose of enriching AAC supports.

DESARROLLO EMOCIONAL EN LA INFANCIA. UN ESTUDIO SOBRE LAS COMPETENCIAS EMOCIONALES DE NIÑOS Y NIÑAS.

Este estudio tiene como objetivo la evaluación del desarrollo emocional de alumnado de Educación Infantil escolarizado en 2º Curso del Segundo Ciclo de esta etapa (N=123). Para este fin, se han analizado las competencias emocionales de los menores. Concretamente, la conciencia emocional, la regulación emocional, la competencia social y las habilidades de vida para el bienestar. Además, se han comparado los resultados obtenidos por los niños y por las niñas en cada dimensión, a fin de conocer la influencia del sexo del menor en su desarrollo emocional.Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas en función de la variable sexo en el nivel global de competencia emocional y en tres de las cuatro dimensiones que lo componen. El estudio evidencia además, la necesidad de evaluar los procesos emocionales en la infancia para favorecer una mejora en las competencias socio-emocionales del alumnado de Educación Infantil e incrementarlas a lo largo de su formación académica para su desarrollo integral. This research has the purpose of evaluating emotional development in the student body during pre-school education in the second course of the second cycle of this stage (N = 123).To this end, children emotional competences have been analyzed. Specifically, emotional awareness, emotional regulation, social competence and life skills for welfare. Furthermore, the results obtained by little girls and boys have been compared in each dimension, with the aim of recognizing the influence of the sex of the infant during his emotional management.The results show significant differences depending on the sex of the children in the global level of emotional competence and in three of the four dimensions which it is composed. Moreover, the study evidences the necessity of evaluating emotional processes during the infancy with the objective of improving social and emotional competences of the student body of Pre-school education and increasing them throughout their academic training for their development.

Design and application of an immersive virtual reality system to enhance emotional skills for children with autism spectrum disorders

This paper proposes the design and application of an immersive virtual reality system to improve and train the emotional skills of students with autism spectrum disorders. It has been designed for primary school students between the ages of 7–12 and all participants have a confirmed diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The immersive environment allows the student to train and develop different social situations in a structured, visual and continuous manner. The use of a computer vision system to automatically determine the child's emotional state is proposed. This system has been created with two goals in mind, the first to update the social situations, with the student's emotional mood taken into account, and the second to confirm, automatically, if the child's behavior is appropriate in the represented social situation. The results described in this paper show a significant improvement in the children's emotional competences, in comparison with the results obtained until now using earlier virtual reality systems.

Maternal emotion socialization differentially predicts third-grade children's emotion regulation and lability.

Numerous parental emotion socialization factors have been implicated as direct and indirect contributors to the development of children's emotional competence. To date, however, no study has combined parents' emotion-related beliefs, behaviors, and regulation strategies in one model to assess their cumulative-as well as unique-contributions to children's emotion regulation. We considered the 2 components that have recently been distinguished: emotion regulation and emotional lability. We predicted that mothers' beliefs about the value of and contempt for children's emotions, mothers' supportive and nonsupportive reactions to their children's emotions, as well as mothers' use of cognitive reappraisal and suppression of their own emotions would each contribute unique variance to their children's emotion regulation and lability, as assessed by children's teachers. The study sample consisted of an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse group of 165 mothers and their third-grade children. Different patterns emerged for regulation and lability: Controlling for family income, child gender, and ethnicity, only mothers' lack of suppression as a regulatory strategy predicted greater emotion regulation in children, whereas mothers' valuing of children's emotions, mothers' lack of contempt for children's emotions, mothers' use of cognitive reappraisal to reinterpret events, and mothers' lack of emotional suppression predicted less lability in children. These findings support the divergence of emotion regulation and lability as constructs and indicate that, during middle childhood, children's lability may be substantially and uniquely affected by multiple forms of parental socialization.

미술놀이와 신체표현을 통합한 예술경험활동이 유아의 정서능력 및 창의성에 미치는 효과

미술놀이와 신체표현을 통합한 예술경험활동이 유아의 정서능력 및 창의성에 미치는 효과

The importance of emotions: the socialisation of emotion in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACTParents play a critical role in the development of children's emotional competence; however, little research examines parents’ emotion socialisation practices among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we compared the emotion socialisation practices of parents of children with ASD and to those of parents of children that are typically developing. The Coping with Children's Negative Emotions Scale was used to assess parents’ reactions to children's emotions in both the typically developing sample (n = 138) and the sample of children with ASD (n = 22). An analysis of covariance revealed significant differences in responses to anger and fear. Group was entered as the independent variable and the dependent variable was parents’ responses to children's expressions of negative emotion. Covariates included child gender and child age. These results demonstrate a need for research examining the relationship between, and moderators of, parents’ emotional reactions and the development of emotional competence in children with ASD. Furthermore, these results have implications for early intervention practice as parent–child interactions have been shown to affect child outcomes.

The Mommy and Me Play Program: A Pilot Play Intervention for Low-Income, African American Preschool Families

In this study the author examined the effects of a dyadic, mother-paired play intervention—The Mommy and Me Play Program—an innovative intervention program designed using a live-action modeling technique in which mothers serve as “natural helpers” to each other. By identifying natural strengths in mothers and employing opportunities for scaffolded learning, this intervention aimed to enhance mother–child play interactions and children's social and emotional competence. Fifty mother–child dyads from a single, low-income, African American, urban community were assessed in this study on measures of mother–child play interactions and children's social and emotional competency. Results from this pilot were not statistically significant, but provide important information regarding future research with this intervention program. These preliminary findings indicated that mothers with fewer play skills pre-intervention demonstrated improvement in their play skills post-intervention beyond other intervention participants; and children of those same mothers showed the greatest decrease in angry and aggressive behaviors in the classroom when compared to other participating children from pre- to post-intervention. Implications for research and practice in community-based, intervention work with low-income, ethnic-minority families are discussed.