Cognitive Regulation Strategies Used by Children with Reading Difficulties

(1) Background: Children with reading difficulties may experience negative emotions and social isolation. The cognitive emotion regulation strategies that they use in different reading tasks can make them more vulnerable in the stressful situations. Using adaptative emotion regulation strategies may help them overcome stressful reading situations. (2) Methods: Children identified with poor reading comprehension skills were compared to children without reading comprehension difficulties on measures of self-evaluation and thought in relation to task, and on cognitive coping strategies relevant to performance. The effect of some relevant demographic factors was also investigated, such as gender and urban/rural setting. (3) Results: Our results indicate that children that have poor reading comprehension skills present higher scores on negative self- evaluation and off-task thoughts that are in relation to performance anxiety. Also, in what concerns cognitive coping strategies, students with difficulties in reading comprehension display a greater use of blaming others strategy, which is in relation to the negative self-evaluations. Also, they displayed less use of putting into perspective. No effect of gender and setting emerged for off and on task thoughts and cognitive coping strategies, except for lower scores of students from rural setting in positive self-evaluation. (4) Conclusions: students presenting difficulties in reading comprehension tend to use more negative self-statements and disengagement through off-task thoughts and employ coping strategies directed to protect self-worth.