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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
08:09

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

Children's sense of coherence and trait emotional intelligence: a longitudinal study exploring the development of

Francine C Jellesma1, C Rieffe, Mark Meerum Terwogt

  • 1Developmental Psychology, Leiden University, 2300 RB, Leiden, The Netherlands. F.C.Jellesma@uva.nl

Psychology & Health
|March 24, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Children with higher trait emotional intelligence and a stronger sense of coherence report fewer physical symptoms. These psychological factors appear to influence somatic complaints in children, with bidirectional effects observed.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Health Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Somatic complaints are common in children and can impact well-being.
  • Understanding protective factors for children's health is crucial.
  • Sense of coherence and emotional intelligence are recognized psychological constructs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the prospective associations between sense of coherence, trait emotional intelligence, and children's somatic complaints.
  • To investigate the longitudinal and cross-sectional relationships between these variables.
  • To determine if these psychological factors predict changes in somatic complaints over time.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study with four data collection waves over 18 months.
  • 324 girls and 393 boys (mean age 10.25 years) participated.
  • Self-report questionnaires assessed somatic complaints, sense of coherence, and trait emotional intelligence.
  • Multilevel modeling analyses were employed to analyze the data.

Main Results:

  • Higher levels of trait emotional intelligence were associated with fewer somatic complaints.
  • A stronger sense of coherence was linked to a reduction in somatic complaints.
  • The relationships between these factors and somatic complaints were found to be bidirectional.

Conclusions:

  • Trait emotional intelligence and sense of coherence are important protective factors for children's physical health.
  • Interventions aimed at enhancing these psychological resources may help mitigate somatic complaints in children.
  • The bidirectional nature of these relationships suggests a dynamic interplay between psychological well-being and physical symptoms.

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