Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between children’s ability to regulate emotions and display of appropriate behavior in social settings. A sample of 33 children representing a wide range of social economic status was randomly selected from a Head Start Program and an Early Childhood Development Center in the Midwest. Data were collected using the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) developed by Shields and Cicchetti (Dev Psychol 33:906–916, 1997, J Clin child Psychol, 27:231–395, 1998). A “Behavior Recording” checklist was developed and used to record appropriate and inappropriate behavior observed during children social interactions. Teacher ratings identified children as generally high emotion regulators. Girls had generally higher scores than boys in emotion regulation ability. A high relationship (r = .76) was also found between emotion regulation and display of appropriate behavior. Results indicate the importance of emotions in relation to a child’s well being and academic achievement. Additionally, these findings suggest a need for parents and early childhood educators to teach children appropriate emotional behavior when confronted with situations that are in conflict with societal norms.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashforth, B. E., & Humphrey, R. H. (1995). Emotion in the workplace: A reappraisal. Human Relations, 48(2), 97–125.
Boyer, W. (2008). Parental and educator perspectives on young children’s acquisition of self-regulatory skills. In R. M. Jalongo (Ed.), Enduring bonds (pp. 23–37). New York, NY: Springer.
Boyer, W. (2009). Crossing the glass wall: Using preschool educators’ knowledge to enhance parental understanding of children’s self-regulation and emotion regulation. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(3), 175–182.
Boyer, W., Blodgett, L. J. & Turk, E. (2006). Parents and educators supporting the Acquisition of self-regulatory skills in children ages 3–5: A large scale qualitative descriptive study across varied communities. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development and Head Start Research Conference. Washington, DC.
Brenner, E. M., & Salovey, P. (1997). Emotional regulation during childhood: developmental, interpersonal and individual consideration. In P. Salovey & D. J. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional developmental and emotional intelligences (pp. 168–195). New York, NY: Basic Books.
Campos, J. J., Mumme, D. L., Kermoian, R., & Campos, R. G. (1994). A functionalist perspective on the nature of emotion. In N. A. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation: Biological and behavioral considerations. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (Vol. 59 (2–3, Serial No. 240), pp. 284–303).
Eisenberg, N., Smith, C. L., Sadovsky, A., & Spinard, T. L. (2004). Effortful control: Relations with emotion regulation, adjustment and socialization in childhood. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation. Research, theory, and applications (pp. 259–282). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Fujiki, M., Brinton, B., & Clarke, D. (2002). Emotion regulation in children with specific language impairment, language, speech, and hearing services in schools. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 33, 102–111.
Garber, J., & Dodge, K. A. (Eds.). (1991). The development of emotion regulation and dysregulation. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Goleman, D. (1997). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York, NY: Bantam.
Gottman, J. (1997). Raising and emotional intelligent child: The heart of parenting. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Hyson, M. C. (1994). The emotional development of young children. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Izard, C., Fine, S., Schultz, D., Mostow, A., Ackerman, B., & Youngstrom, E. (2001). Emotion knowledge as a predictor of social behavior and academic competence in children at risk. American Psychology society, 12, 18–23.
LeDoux, J. (1994). The shooting of Matilda Crabtree. New York: The New York Times. (November 11).
Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications (pp. 3–31). New York, NY: Basic Books.
Mayer, J., & Salovey, P. (2000). Models of emotional intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence (2nd ed., pp. 369–421). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Obiakor, F. E., & Algozzine, B. (1995). Managing problem behaviors: Perspectives for general and special educators. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9, 185–211.
Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Emotion regulation among school-age children: The development and validation of a new criterion Q-sort scale. Developmental Psychology, 33, 906–916.
Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1998). Reactive aggression among maltreated children: The contributions of attention and emotion dysregulation. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 381–395.
Sullivan, M. W., & Lewis, M. (2003). Contextual determinants of anger and other negative expressions in young infants. Developmental Psychology, 39, 693–705.
Thompson, R. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. In N. A. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation: Biological and behavioral considerations. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (Vol. 59 (Serial No. 24), pp. 25–52).
Walden, T. A., & Smith, M. C. (1997). Emotion regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 21, 7–25.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Onchwari, G., Keengwe, J. Examining the Relationship of Children’s Behavior to Emotion Regulation Ability. Early Childhood Educ J 39, 279–284 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0466-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0466-9