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Emotional understanding, aggression, and social functioning among preschoolers
Geneviève Laurent1, Hannah K Hecht2, Karin Ensink1
1Department of Psychology, Université Laval.
The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
|November 2, 2018
Summary
Emotional understanding (EU) impacts aggression and social skills in preschoolers. Aggressive children showed lower expressive EU, higher receptive EU, and poorer social functioning, with specific links varying by aggression type and gender.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social-Emotional Learning
- Child Aggression Research
Background:
- Emotional understanding (EU) is linked to aggression regulation and social functioning.
- Gaps exist in understanding how developmental stage, aggression type, social functioning, and EU dimensions influence these links.
Purpose of the Study:
- To multidimensionally assess EU, aggression, and social functioning in aggressive preschoolers.
- To explore the complex associations among these factors, considering different aggression types and social functioning measures.
Main Methods:
- Compared aggressive preschoolers (n=24) to a nonaggressive comparison group (n=26).
- Assessed EU via behavioral measures and social functioning through teacher reports.
- Utilized teacher-reported physical and relational aggression measures.
Main Results:
- Aggressive children had lower expressive EU, higher receptive EU, lower peer acceptance, and reduced prosocial behavior.
- Higher physical aggression correlated with increased peer victimization in girls.
- Expressive EU was linked to higher peer acceptance only within the aggressive group.
Conclusions:
- Emotional understanding dimensions differentially relate to aggression and social functioning in preschoolers.
- Findings highlight the complexity of EU's role in social-emotional development and aggression regulation.
- Interventions targeting expressive EU may benefit aggressive children's social integration.
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