Social Emotion Research Articles

Promoting emotion understanding in middle childhood: A systematic review of school-based SEL programs

Emotion understanding (EU) describes the ability to identify, interpret, and communicate about emotions, and is often targeted by social-emotional learning (SEL) programs. Still, the theoretical framing of SEL programs and their impact on specific areas of social-emotional development, such as EU, for different age bands is not always transparent. This systematic review synthesized emotion-focused content in SEL programs used in quantitative outcome studies in middle childhood to identify which EU components are targeted and examine content congruence with an integrated EU development model drawing on the Pons EU developmental model and the Crick and Dodge social-information processing (SIP) model that posits emotion identification as fundamental to social decision-making in childhood. A total of 38 programs for Grades 3 to 5 across 54 studies in 20 countries were reviewed. Program aims, lesson topics, and activities were extracted and mapped to a 10-component EU framework integrating the nine Pons model components (‘recognition, external cause, reminder, desire, belief, hiding, regulation, mixed, morality’) with one based on the SIP model (‘decision/action’). At least 87% of emotion-focused SEL content targeted EU components of recognition, regulation, and social decision-making. Findings indicate a good level of congruence between emotion-focused SEL program content and prevailing EU development models. Many programs emphasized the external causes of emotions, underscoring the importance of scenarios to explain emotions—discussed further in light of cross-cultural variation in emotion socialization. We encourage SEL intervention research to be more transparent in reporting SEL program content and activities to move toward causal explanations of program impact.

On anger, or what Heidegger’s philosophy of affectivity offers

The article presented here thematizes Heidegger’s view of affectivity, experience and passions in the context of his reading of Nietzsche’s philosophy. Following the basic plan of Heidegger’s analysis of moods (especially fear and anxiety) in Being and Time, the author attempts to show us what Heidegger’s phenomenology of affectivity would have enabled us to see in the phenomenon of anger if Heidegger had elaborated it. The author analyzes anger as a social and moral emotion through the prism of what “angry” phenomena have in common; what we perceive when we are angry; and what it is for us that anger is even about. In conclusion, anger is presented as something existential that not only uncovers existence itself, but above all the relationship of our will to phenomena that are not acceptable to us.

Factors associated with pregnancy-related anxiety: a health facility-based study

Pregnancy is a critical phase for human beings, which can lead to various mental health issues, including anxiety. It is important to recognize that pregnancy-related anxiety can increase over time and should be addressed. This study aimed to explore the multifactor of pregnancy-related anxiety during the first trimester. A cross-sectional health facility-based study was conducted in four Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia public health centers. A total of 129 pregnant women were involved and identified some exposures, such as socio-demographics, nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP), emotion regulation, social support, and anxiety levels. The average age of participants was 27.3 years. Their anxiety level was moderate to severe (37.2%), and 62.8% were identified as having mild anxiety. This study suggests that pregnant women who lack social support (AOR=4.105; 1.824-9.237) and emotion dysregulation (AOR=2.749; 1.244-6.075) were identified as the risk factors of maternal anxiety during the first trimester. Being employed (AOR=0.410; 0.182-0.922) protects the high anxiety during pregnancy. This study suggests that the lack of social support, including social interaction most influences pregnant women’s mental well-being. Therefore, it may be helpful to establish an intervention plan that strengthens social support to improve maternal mental well-being.

Emphasizing the Social in Social Emotion Regulation: A Call for Integration and Expansion.

The Future of Affective Science Special Issues illuminate where the field of Affective Science is headed in coming years, highlighting exciting new directions for research. Many of the articles in the issues emphasized the importance of studying emotion regulation, and specifically, social emotion regulation. This commentary draws on these articles to argue that future research needs to more concretely focus on the social aspects of social emotion regulation, which have been underexplored in affective science. Specifically, we discuss the importance of focusing on social goals, strategies and tactics, and outcomes relevant to social emotion regulation interactions, more closely considering these processes for all individuals involved. To do so, we draw on research from neighboring subdisciplines of psychology that have focused on the social aspects of interactions. Moreover, we underscore the need to better integrate components of the process model of social emotion regulation and approach empirical inquiry more holistically, in turn illuminating how piecemeal investigations of these processes might lead to an incomplete or incorrect understanding of social emotion regulation. We hope this commentary supplements the research in the special issues, further highlighting ways to advance the field.

Translation and Validation of the Persian Version of the Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Patients with kidney stones have a lower quality of life (QOL) than healthy patients; however, treatment guidelines neglect their QOL. Wisconsin stone QOL test (WIS-QOL) is the first specific questionnaire for urolithiasis patients. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the translated Persian version of the WIS-QOL questionnaire in patients with kidney stones. All patients (> 18 years old) with a history of urolithiasis were included in this cross-sectional. The WIS-QOL questionnaire was translated depending on Hutchinson's guideline. Effects of urolithiasis on the patient's social activity, emotions, disease, and vitality were evaluated. Pearson Correlation and Cronbach's alpha test were used to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. All data were analyzed by SPSS software version 26.0. Among 154 urolithiasis patients, 94 (61%) were males, and 60 (39%) were females. The mean age was 50.4 years (SD: ± 13.6), and the mean QOL score was 84.7 (SD: ±21.8). For each question, the numerical value of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient has been compared with the numerical value, and the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.94 for all four areas of the questionnaire, so the reliability of the questionnaire in Persian was confirmed. The present study showed the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the WIS-QOL questionnaire in symptomatic urolithiasis patients. The present study showed the status and impact of urolithiasis on QOL however, longitudinal and prospective studies should be done to specify changes over time.

Emotional expressivity and self-regulation as indicators of social emotions in older preschool children: Evaluating the effectiveness of development

Introduction. The article presents a theoretical analysis of the main ideas on the problem of social emotions and social competence in the context of the development of self-regulation and interaction skills, as well as the role of parents in this process. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the effectiveness of the development of certain indicators of social emotions in older preschool children, such as emotional expressivity and self–regulation, using an innovative method of reflective conversation. Materials and Methods. A narrative approach was used as a methodological basis of the study. The main research methods comprise the analysis of scholarly literature devoted to the problem of the development of social emotions in older preschool children; as well as evaluation methods, including observation (V. M. Kholmogorova and E. O. Smirnova’s ‘Primary orientation in children s’ relationships’), testing (R. M. Chumicheva’s inventory for determining the ability of a 3-7-year-old child to assess mental states of another person), situation analysis, the method of reflexive conversation, as well as methods of statistical data processing (criterion φ – Fisher angular transformation). 68 preschoolers participated in the study. Results. The authors substantiate that the study of emotional expression and regulation of emotions of older preschool children is significant for understanding and choosing techniques for developing appropriate interactive skills. The relationship between the socio-emotional competence of older preschool children and reflective conversation has been determined. It has been proven that children’s ability to regulate their own emotions contributes to increasing their overall social competence. As a result of comparing the data of primary and secondary assessment of the experimental and control groups according to the indicators established: assessment of the mental states of another person, initiative, sensitivity to peer influences and the prevailing emotional background, significant differences were revealed. Conclusions. The experimental study of the influence of reflexive conversation on the development of social emotions and skills of emotional self-regulation allowed us to establish a causal relationship between indicators of socio-emotional competence and the constructive algorithm for conducting reflexive conversation. The study concludes that reflective conversations contribute to the development of emotional expressivity and self-regulation as indicators of social emotions in older preschool children.

Physical and Psychological Symptomatology, Co-Parenting, and Emotion Socialization in High-Conflict Divorces: A Profile Analysis.

Although the consequences of divorce and conflict have been extensively studied, most research has focused on children rather than ex-spouses, although variables such as parental health or co-parenting may have an influence on children's development through processes such as emotion socialization. In addition, the relationship between these variables has never been considered in high-conflict divorces. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the impact of physical and psychological symptomatology and co-parenting on the emotion socialization patterns of parents experiencing high-conflict divorces. Furthermore, the moderating role of resilience was considered, as it has been highly studied as a coping mechanism in adverse situations but barely in divorce at the parental level. For this purpose, a Latent Profile Analysis was carried out with Mplus 8.10, using a sample of 239 parents from Family Visitation Centers. Results revealed, on the one hand, that parents with fewer physical and psychological symptoms sowed more emotion socialization behaviors than those with more symptomatology. On the other hand, in situations of high interparental conflict, the role of co-parenting and resilience seems less relevant than that of physical and psychological symptomatology when analyzing parental skills like emotion socialization.

Achievement goal orientation and academic social comparison emotions in competitive learning environments: Latent profile analysis approach

Achievement goal orientation and academic social comparison emotions in competitive learning environments: Latent profile analysis approach

Analysis Of Interpersonal Communication of Perisai Agents in Increasing the Number of Participants of Non- Wage Earners (BPU) At BPJS Ketenagakerjaan Makassar Branch Office

The purpose of this study was to determine and analyze the interpersonal communication strategies of perisai agents, analyze BPJS Ketenagakerjaan's efforts to motivate Perisai Agents to enhance their interpersonal communication skills in the process of expanding BPU membership, and to find out the factors that become drivers and obstacles in the application of perisai agent interpersonal communication strategies. To achieve these objectives, data was collected through observation and interviews. Data analysis techniques included data reduction, data display, and data description (explanation of results). The results showed that the interpersonal communication strategy of perisai agents showed that the level of communication openness among them had created challenges in maintaining consistencies with the messages received by participants. Emotional support provided by perisai coaches also increased the motivation and performance of perisai agents, strengthening interpersonal relationships and effectiveness in expanding BPU membership. The success BPJS Ketenagakerjaan’s Perisai agents interpersonal communication strategy in expanding BPU membership, analyzed through AIDDA theory, showed positive results where agents successfully attracted attention and stimulated interest through emotional approaches and intensive socialization. Data analysis in this study demonstrated that in applying interpersonal communication as a perisai agents to increase Non-Wage Earner (BPU) membership at BPJS Ketenagakerjaan Makassar Branch, driving factors included confidence in the program, motivation to become an agent and attractive financial incentives. However, the inhibiting factors that included lack of knowledge and mastery, low public awareness, and financial limitations affecting the learning enthusiasm and performance of perisai agents.

Stress and Mental Health: Social-Emotional Protective Factors by Gender and First-Generation College Student Status

ABSTRACT The goal of this study was to test whether the association between college students’ stress and mental health differed depending on social support and emotion expression beliefs. Additionally, this study examined whether these protective factors differed by gender and first-generation student status. Participants included emerging adult college students (N = 792) from a midsize public university in the Southwestern U.S. Students completed an online survey measuring their stress, mental health, emotion expression beliefs, and social support. Results demonstrated that social support was a protective factor for all and did not differ by gender or first-generation student status, whereas emotion expression beliefs related to lower levels of depression for women and lessened the negative effects of stress on mental health for continuing-generation students.

Maternal emotion socialization trajectories in an early-childhood, predominantly White sample.

Several developmental theories identify caregiver emotion socialization (ES) as predicting multiple child psychological outcomes, including anxiety. The present study delineated developmental trajectories of mothers' ES practices, specifically the initial levels and growth across time of their supportive and nonsupportive responses to their young children's emotions. To contextualize the developmental role of these processes, we examined multiple predictors (i.e., maternal emotion dysregulation, child negative emotionality, demographic covariates) and one outcome (i.e., child anxiety) of ES trajectories, as well as how trajectories varied by emotion type-sadness, anger, or worry. We investigated these questions in a community sample of 173 predominantly White, non-Hispanic mother-child dyads who participated at four time points when children were aged 2-5 years, with assessments 1 year apart. Mothers reported on study variables. Results varied by ES type. Mothers' supportive global and emotion-specific ES were highly stable across time and did not relate to predictors, outcomes, or demographic covariates. Mothers endorsed gradual decreases in nonsupportive ES across time, with some variations across emotion type. Nonsupportive responses to worry and sadness each comprised two classes varying by intercept and slope. Nonsupportive worry responses linearly decreased, whereas nonsupportive sadness responses linearly increased. Across global and emotion-specific models, maternal emotion dysregulation, child negative emotionality, and demographic covariates showed unique relations with nonsupportive ES intercept and slope. Trajectories were mostly unrelated to later child anxiety, with the exception of class-specific differences for nonsupportive worry responses. Implications and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Trajectories of behavior and social cognition in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and primary psychiatric disorders: A call for better operationalization of socioemotional changes.

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and primary psychiatric disorders (PPD), such as mood, psychotic, and autism spectrum disorders, share similar clinical characteristics of behavior and social cognition. Better understanding of clinical progression in bvFTD and PPD is essential for adequate disease monitoring and trial design. In this longitudinal study (N = 89), patients with bvFTD and PPD with at least one follow-up assessment were included from the Social Brain Project of the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam. Behavioral change and social cognitive decline were assessed via informant-rated questionnaires (Cambridge Behavioral Inventory-Revised, Frontal Behavioral Inventory [FBI], Stereotypy Rating Inventory, Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale, Revised Self-Monitoring Scale [RSMS]-caregiver) and patient assessment (Ekman 60-Faces Test, RSMS-patient, Emotional Contagion Scale). Clinical trajectories (median = 1.4 years, interquartile range = 1.0-2.2) were examined using linear mixed models. In a subsample, associations with baseline serum neurofilament light (sNfL) were examined. At baseline, behavioral and social cognitive symptoms were similar between diagnosis groups, except for poorer emotion recognition in bvFTD. Over time, behavioral symptoms worsened in bvFTD, whereas most measures remained stable and the FBI improved in PPD. Regarding social cognition, emotion recognition and caregiver-reported socioemotional sensitivity worsened in bvFTD and remained stable in PPD. Patient-reported social cognitive measures did not change over time. Higher sNfL was associated with faster behavioral change. Trajectories of behavior and social cognition differentiate bvFTD from PPD, provided that social cognition is not patient-reported. Therefore, we stress the need to optimize longitudinal social cognitive assessment in bvFTD. sNfL may be a useful prognostic marker of behavioral progression in neuropsychiatric populations.

EuroQol Toddler and Infant Populations (EQ-TIPS): Age-Related Differences in Performance.

The EQ-TIPS was developed to measure the Health-Related Quality of Life in infants/toddlers. Considering the rapid development in this period, this study aimed to investigate age-related variations in EQ-TIPS performance. Data from 551 infants/toddlers living with a health condition were analysed. Infants/toddlers were grouped by age: 0-6 months (n = 100), 6-12 months (n = 95), 12-24 months (n = 147), and 36-48 months (n = 97). Differences in item responses and item correlations across age groups were calculated by Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman's correlations, respectively. The report of problems was significantly higher for movement, play, and communication in the 36-48-month group compared to the 0-6-month group. There were strong correlations (r > 0.50) across all age groups between play and movement and communication and social interaction/play; neither pain nor eating showed a clear pattern of association. There is an age-related difference in the reporting of items linked to developmental milestones (movement, play, and communication) with most problems reported in the 36-48-month group when deviation from peers and continued dependence on caregivers is notable. Consideration should be given to including broader examples of play in the EQ-TIPS. Redefining the items to represent social communication and/or (social) emotion, rather than communication and social interaction, may be warranted. Future research should explore the psychometric performance of items to further inform item inclusion and/or revision.

Supplemental Material for Maternal Emotion Socialization Trajectories in an Early-Childhood, Predominantly White Sample

Supplemental Material for Maternal Emotion Socialization Trajectories in an Early-Childhood, Predominantly White Sample

Profiling Parent’s Responses to Children’s Anxiety: A Qualitative Study Combined with Multiple Correspondence and Cluster Analyses

Parental influence and children’s anxiety have a complex interaction. Robust findings revealed that parenting styles and practices, modeling, and parent-child emotion socialization play a role in a child’s anxiety. However, research has focused on global behavioral and emotional tendencies derived from quantitative studies with large samples, neglecting their link to parental cognitive factors and the heterogeneity of the family’s distinctive experiences. Our study aimed to broaden this knowledge, capture what parents think, feel, and behave during anxiety-enhancing childhood experiences, and identify distinct parental profiles based on these complementary elements. The present study adopted a cross-sectional qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 65 parents of children with anxiety disorders (9–12 years old). A content analysis was first performed, and then representations of the associations between the emergent categories obtained from the content analysis, and latent constructs that can work as major determinants in parents’ responses to the child’s anxiety, were assessed by a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) combined with a hierarchical clustering algorithm. Parental cognitions, emotions, and behaviors are first derived into two distinct dimensions: capacity to respond and emotional reactivity. Three typological profiles of parents were derived from these dimensions: (a) Reactive and ineffective; (b) Unreactive and moderately effective, and (c) Anxious and effective. The qualitative exploration of parental cognitions, emotions, and behaviors in a child’s anxiety context contributes to engrossing the current literature. Our results have essential implications and the need to adjust treatments in clinical settings according to parents’ profiles.

Development and psychometric evaluation of a new domain-specific coparenting measure: Coparenting Children's Emotion Scale.

Caregivers play an integral role in supporting children's development, not only through their individual parenting practices but also how they work together as coparents. The literature on coparenting is extensive; however, most of the research has relied on global measures to assess the quality and functioning of the coparenting relationship. Examining the coparenting relationship with domain-specific measures enables a deeper understanding of this complex family process. One domain of particular interest is emotion socialization given the vast and long-term consequences emotion socialization has on children's emotional, social, behavioral, and psychological functioning. Emotion socialization literature would benefit from a domain-specific coparenting measure, as researchers have rarely explored how coparents work together when responding to their children's emotions (i.e., coparenting children's emotions). As such, an emotion-focused coparenting measure could address gaps in both coparenting and emotion socialization literature. This study outlines the development and psychometric evaluation of a domain-specific measure of coparenting, the Coparenting Children's Emotion Scale (CCES), which assesses how parents work together when responding to their children's emotions. In the current study, the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the CCES were examined in an Australian sample. Findings from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the CCES comprises two subscales that capture coparents' levels of support/cooperation and undermining. In the current sample, both CCES subscales demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency, and good convergent and concurrent validity. The CCES will provide researchers and practitioners with a domain-specific measure to use in exploratory and intervention research.

Building Parental Capacity: Outcomes of a Therapeutic Parent Group Run Concurrently with a Social Skills Group for Their Young Person

Introduction: Raising a child with social communication and emotion regulation challenges, such as those experienced in the context of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is associated with family disruption and parental stress. Research shows that parents of children and young people with ASD can experience challenges in managing their child’s behaviour and experience a sense of disconnectedness, a lack of support from the “system”, and a broader lack of understanding within the community. Methods: A therapeutic parent group was held in parallel to a young person group working on social skills. The young person cohort included both boys and girls in early adolescence with neurodevelopmental diagnoses. The parent group provided a space for participants to focus on themselves, tune into their own emotions, and receive support in relation to their lived experiences of parenting. Parental outcomes were assessed using standard measures, and the experiences of the groups were captured qualitatively through focus groups with both parents and staff. Results: The project found that the therapeutic parent group was effective in supporting parents to feel less stressed and more in control, as well as less alone in their parenting journey. Qualitative data indicated that the groups filled an identified need within the service and were engaging and acceptable to parents.

Development and validation of the short parent–child emotion communication questionnaire

ABSTRACT How parents value and address emotions with their children is essential for children’s emotion socialization. This study developed and validated the short Parent–Child Emotion Communication questionnaire (PEC), which measures the extent to which parents appreciate emotions, consciously discuss their own and their child’s emotions with their children, reflecting on both positive and negative emotions, and address the impact of emotion expression on social relationships. Parents of 316 preschoolers (Mage = 3.86 years) participated. Factor structure, measurement invariance across sex, and internal consistency of the PEC were assessed. Four indices for parents’ talk about a child’s emotional episode, and children’s social-emotional skills are tested for criterion and concurrent validity. The results confirmed the one-factor structure of the 8-item PEC, measurement invariance across boys and girls, and seemed to support the criterion/concurrent validity. The PEC thus may provide a tool to examine parent–child emotion communication in early childhood. Clinical implications of using the PEC are discussed.

Family-level profiles of parental reactions to emotions: Longitudinal associations with multi-informant reports of adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Longitudinal study of associations between family-level emotion socialization and adolescent adjustment is limited. When American children (53.5% girls) were in second grade (N = 213; Mage = 7.98; data collected 2002-2003), mothers and fathers (79.8% of mothers and 74.2% of fathers were White) reported on their reactions to children's emotions; in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade (Mage = 13.03, 14.17, 15.29, respectively; data collected 2007-2010), adolescents, mothers, and fathers reported on adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Four family-level profiles of reactions were identified. Profile differences emerged, suggesting that the emotion dismissing profile was longitudinally associated with elevated adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms and that fathering may especially foster child adjustment for families in a divergence profile.

Multi-level emotion propagation in natural disaster events: diverse leadership of super-spreaders in different levels of hierarchy

PurposeIn social media, crisis information susceptible of generating different emotions could be spread at exponential pace via multilevel super-spreaders. This study aims to interpret the multi-level emotion propagation in natural disaster events by analyzing information diffusion capacity and emotional guiding ability of super-spreaders in different levels of hierarchy.Design/methodology/approachWe collected 47,042 original microblogs and 120,697 forwarding data on Weibo about the “7.20 Henan Rainstorm” event for empirical analysis. Emotion analysis and emotion network analysis were used to screen emotional information and identify super-spreaders. The number of followers is considered as the basis for classifying super-spreaders into five levels.FindingsOfficial media and ordinary users can become the super-spreaders with different advantages, creating a new emotion propagation environment. The number of followers becomes a valid basis for classifying the hierarchy levels of super-spreaders. The higher the level of users, the easier they are to become super-spreaders. And there is a strong correlation between the hierarchy level of super-spreaders and their role in emotion propagation.Originality/valueThis study has important significance for understanding the mode of social emotion propagation and making decisions in maintaining social harmony.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-03-2024-0192.