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The relations between emotional understanding, intellectual functioning, and disruptive behavior problems in
E T Cook1, M T Greenberg, C A Kusche
1Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
|April 1, 1994
Summary
Children with more behavior problems struggle with emotional understanding. Higher intellectual functioning can help mitigate these deficits, offering insights for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Emotional understanding is crucial for social and behavioral adjustment in children.
- Individual differences in emotional understanding and behavior problems are well-documented.
- The interplay between cognitive abilities and emotional development warrants further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between children's emotional understanding and behavioral adjustment.
- To investigate the role of intellectual functioning in mediating this relationship.
- To explore implications for intervention programs for children with behavioral challenges.
Main Methods:
- Individual interviews using the Kusche Affective Interview--Revised with 220 first- and second-grade children.
- Assessment of emotional understanding (personal examples, recognition cues) and intellectual functioning (WISC-R subtests).
- Parent-completed Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist to measure behavior problems.
Main Results:
- Children with higher behavior problems exhibited deficits in emotional understanding.
- Intellectual functioning was negatively correlated with behavior problems.
- Cognitive abilities attenuated the negative impact of behavior problems on emotional understanding.
Conclusions:
- Deficits in emotional understanding are linked to behavioral problems in children.
- Intellectual functioning plays a protective role, moderating the effects of behavior problems on emotional skills.
- Findings support the development of targeted prevention and treatment programs focusing on both emotional and cognitive skills for children with behavior problems.