The role of emotionality and regulation in children's social competence and adjustment

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511489761.003

2 - The role of emotionality and regulation in children's social competence and adjustment

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009

Nancy Eisenberg ,

Richard A. Fabes ,

Ivanna K. Guthrie and

Mark Reiser

Edited by

Lea Pulkkinen and

Avshalom Caspi

Show author details

Lea Pulkkinen: Affiliation:
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Avshalom Caspi: Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London

Book contents

Get access

Summary

The topic of regulatory processes, especially emotion-related regulation, has emerged as a major focus of psychological interest in the last decade. This seems to be especially true in developmental and clinical psychology, probably because of the role of emotion and its regulation in developmentally important outcomes such as social competence and adjustment. Indeed, emotion-related regulation is a critical aspect of individual functioning because it likely contributes to nearly all domains of human functioning and behavior, including the quality of individuals' interactions with others, the social appropriateness of overt behavior, and the nature of experienced emotion. Consequently, emotion-related regulation, through its effects on behavior and emotional experience, influences others' perceptions of an individual and the individual's self-related cognitions and evaluations. For example, children who are especially unregulated in their peer interactions are likely to be rejected by their peers, which can affect future opportunities for learning about socially competent behavior, willingness to stay in school with peers, self-related evaluations, and adjustment (e.g., problems with anxiety or depression; e.g., Parker and Asher, 1987, 1993; Parker, Rubin, Price, and DeRosier, 1995). Thus, emotion-related regulation in the early years is likely to influence the course of development across the life-span. For these reasons, knowledge about emotion-related regulation is important not only for a basic scientific understanding of social and emotional development, but also for work aimed at preventing and remediating problem behaviors and promoting adaptive coping and socially competent behavior across the life-course.

Type: Chapter
Information: Paths to Successful Development
Personality in the Life Course
, pp. 46 - 70

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511489761.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4–18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry

Achenbach, T. M., and Edelbrock, C. (1986). Manual for the Teacher's Report Form. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont

Asendorpf, J. B. (1987). Videotape reconstruction of emotions and cognitions related to shyness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 542–9CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Bierman, K. L., and Wargo, J. B. (1995). Predicting the longitudinal course associated with aggressive-rejected, aggressive (nonrejected), and rejected (nonaggressive) status. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 669–82CrossRef Google Scholar

Block, J. H., and Block, J. (1980). The role of ego-control and ego-resiliency in the organization of behavior. In W. Andrew Collins (ed.), Development of cognition, affect, and social relations. The Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum 13, 39–101

Boivin, M., Hymel, S., and Bukowski, W. M. (1995). The roles of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and victimization by peers in predicting loneliness and pressed mood in children. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 765–85CrossRef Google Scholar

Bridges, L. J., and Grolnick, W. S. (1995). The development of emotional self-regulation in infancy and early childhood. In N. Eisenberg (ed.), Review of Personality and Psychology. Newbury Park: Sage

Buss, A. H., and Plomin, R. (1984). Temperament: early developing personality traits. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

Buss, K. A., and Goldsmith, H. H. (1998). Fear and anger regulation in infancy: effects on the temporal dynamics of affective expression. Child Development, 69, 359–74CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Campos, J. J., Mumme, D. L., Kermoian, R., and Campos, R. G. (1994). A functionalist perspective on the nature of emotion. In N. A. Fox (ed.), The developmental of emotion regulation: biological and behavioral considerations. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59 (Serial No. 240, 284–303)

Caspi, A. (1998). Personality development across the life course. In W. Damon (Series Editor) and N. Eisenberg (Volume Editor.), Social, emotional and personality development. Handbook of child psychology. New York: Wiley, 3, 311–88

Caspi, A., Henry, B., McGee, R. O., Moffitt, T. E., and Silva, P. A. (1995). Temperamental origins of child and adolescent behavior problems: from age 3 to age 15. Child Development, 66, 55–68CrossRef Google Scholar

Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Newman, D. L., and Silva, P. A. (1996). Behavioral observations at age 3 years predict adult psychiatric disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 1033–39CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Caspi, A., and Silva, P. A. (1995). Temperamental qualities at age three predict personality traits in young adulthood: longitudinal evidence from a birth cohort. Child Development, 66, 486–98CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Chassin, L., Pillow, D. R., Curran, P. J., Molina, B. S. G., and Barrera, M. J. (1993). Relation of parental alcoholism to early adolescent substance use: a test of three mediating mechanisms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 3–19CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., and Li, B. (1995a). Social and school adjustment of shy and aggressive children in China. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 337–49CrossRef Google Scholar

Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., and Li, B. (1995b). Social functioning and adjustment in Chinese children: a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 31, 531–9CrossRef Google Scholar

Chen, X., Rubin, K. H., and Sun, Y. (1992). Social reputation and peer relationships in Chinese and Canadian children: a cross-cultural study. Child Development, 63, 1336–43CrossRef Google Scholar

Coie, J., Terry, R., Lenox, K., Lochman, J., and Hyman, C. (1995). Childhood peer rejection and aggression as predictors of stable patterns of adolescent disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 697–713CrossRef Google Scholar

Colder, C. R., and Chassin, L. (1997). Affectivity and impulsivity: temperament risk for adolescent alcohol involvement. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 11, 83–97CrossRef Google Scholar

Derryberry, D., and Rothbart, M. K. (1988). Arousal, affect, and attention as components of temperament. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 958–66CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., and Fabes, R. A. (1992). Emotion, regulation, and the development of social competence. In M. S. Clark (ed.), Review of personality and social psychology; Emotion and social behavior. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 14, 119–50

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Bernzweig, J., Karbon, M., Poulin, R., and Hanish, L. (1993). The relations of emotionality and regulation to preschoolers' social skills and sociometric status. Child Development, 64, 1418–38CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Guthrie, I. K., Murphy, B. C., Maszk, P., Holmgren, R., and Suh, K. (1996). The relations of regulation and emotionality to problem behavior in elementary school children. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 141–62CrossRef Google Scholar

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Guthrie, I. K., and Reiser, M. (2000). Dispositional emotionality and regulation: their role in predicting quality of social functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 136–57CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., and Murphy, B. (1995). The relations of shyness and low sociability to regulation and emotionality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 505–17CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Murphy, B. C., Shepard, S., Guthrie, I. K., Mazsk, P., Poulin, R., and Jones, S. (1999). Prediction of elementary school children's socially appropriate and problem behavior from anger reactions at age 4 to 6. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 20, 119–42CrossRef Google Scholar

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Murphy, M., Maszk, P., Smith, M., and Karbon, M. (1995). The role of emotionality and regulation in children's social functioning: a longitudinal study. Child Development, 66, 1360–84CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Nyman, M., Bernzweig, J., and Pinuelas, A. (1994). The relations of emotionality and regulation to children's anger-related reactions. Child Development, 65, 109–28CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Shepard, S. A., Murphy, B. C., Guthrie, I. K., Jones, S., Friedman, J., Poulin, R., and Maszk, P. (1997). Contemporaneous and longitudinal prediction of children's social functioning from regulation and emotionality. Child Development, 68, 642–64CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Guthrie, I. K., Fabes, R. A., Reiser, M., Murphy, B. C., Holmgren, R., Maszk, P., and Losoya, S. (1997). The relations of regulation and emotionality to resiliency and competent social functioning in elementary school children. Child Development, 68, 367–83CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Guthrie, I. K., Fabes, R. A., Shepard, S., Losoya, S., Murphy, B., Jones, S., Poulin, R., and Reiser, M. (2000). Prediction of elementary school children's externalizing problem behaviors from attentional and behavioral regulation and negative emotionality. Child Development, 71, 1367–82CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eisenberg, N., Shepard, S. A., Fabes, R. A., Murphy, B. C., and Guthrie, I. K. (1998). Shyness and children's emotionality, regulation, and coping: contemporaneous, longitudinal, and across context relations. Child Development, 69, 767–90CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Eysenck, H. J. (1967). The biological basis of personality. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas

Frick, P. J. (1998). Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems: applying the two-factor model of psychopathy to children. In D. J. Cooke et al. (eds.), Psychopathy: Theory, research and implications for society. Amsterdam: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 161–87CrossRef

Goldsmith, H. H., and Campos, J. J. (1982). Toward a theory of infant temperament. In R. N. Emde and R. J. Harmon (eds.), The development of attachment and affiliative systems. New York: Plenum, 161–93CrossRef

Goldsmith, H. H., and Rothbart, M. K. (1991). Contemporary instruments for assessing early temperament by questionnaire and in the laboratory. In A. Angleitner and J. Strelau (eds.), Explorations in temperament. New York: Plenum Press, 249–72CrossRef

Gross, J. J. (1999). Emotion and emotion regulation. In L. A. Pervin and O. P. John (eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd edn.). New York: Guilford, 525–52

Hart, D., Hofmann, V., Edelstein, W., and Keller, M. (1997). The relation of childhood personality types to adolescent behavior and development: a longitudinal study of Icelandic children. Developmental Psychology, 33, 195–205CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Huey, S. J., and Weisz, J. R. (1997). Ego control, ego resiliency, and the five-factor model as predictors of behavioral and emotional problems in clinic-referred children and adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 404–15CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Hussong, A. M., and Chassin, L. (1994). The stress-negative affect model of adolescent alcohol use: disaggregating negative affect. Journal of Studies in Alcohol, 55, 707–18CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Kagan, J. (1997). Temperament and the reactions to unfamiliarity. Child Development, 68, 139–43CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Kagan, J., Snidman, N., and Arcus, D. (1998). Childhood derivatives of high and low reactivity in infancy. Child Development, 69, 1483–93CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Kendall, P. A. and Wilcox, L. E. (1979). Self-control in children: development of a rating scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 1020–9CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Kochanska, G. (1993). Toward a synthesis of parental socialization and child temperament in early development of conscience. Child Development, 64, 325–47CrossRef Google Scholar

Kochanska, G., Coy, K. C., Tjebkes, T. L., and Husarek, S. J. (1998). Individual differences in emotionality in infancy. Child Development, 64, 375–90CrossRef Google Scholar

Kopp, C. B. (1982). Antecedents of self-regulation: a developmental perspective. Development Psychology, 18, 199–214CrossRef Google Scholar

Krueger, R. F., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., White, J., and Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1996). Delay of gratification, psychopathology, and personality: is low self-control specific to externalizing problems?Journal of Personality, 64, 107–29CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Kyrios, M., and Prior, M. (1990). Temperament, stress and family factors in behavioural adjustment of 3–5-year-old children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 13, 67–93CrossRef Google Scholar

Larsen, R. J., and Diener, E. (1987). Affect intensity as an individual difference characteristic: a review. Journal of Research in Personality, 21, 1–39CrossRef Google Scholar

Leary, M. R. (1986). Affective and behavioral components of shyness: implications for theory, measurement, and research. In W. H. Jones, J. M. Cheek, and Briggs, S. R. (eds.), Shyness: Perspectives on research and treatment. New York: Plenum Press, 27–38CrossRef

Lengua, L. J., West, S. G., and Sandler, I. N. (1998). Temperament as a predictor of symptomatology in children: addressing contamination of measures. Child Development, 69, 164–81CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Lynam, D. R. (1997). Pursuing the psychopathy: capturing the fledgling psychopath in a nomological net. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 425–38CrossRef Google Scholar

Maszk, P., Eisenberg, N., and Guthrie, I. K. (1999). Relations of children's social status to their emotionality and regulation: a short-term longitudinal study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 468–92Google Scholar

Mischel, H. N., and Mischel, W. (1983). The development of children's knowledge of self-control strategies. Child Development, 54, 603–19CrossRef Google Scholar

Moffitt, T. E. (1993). The neuropsychology of conduct disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 135–51CrossRef Google Scholar

Newman, D. L., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., and Silva, P. A. (1997). Antecedents of adult interpersonal functioning: effects of individual differences in age 3 temperament. Developmental Psychology, 33, 206–17CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Newman, J. P., Schmitt, W. A., and Voss, W. D. (1997). Impact of motivationally neutral cues on psychopathic individuals: assessing the generality of the response modulation hypothesis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 106, 563–75CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Newman, J. P., and Wallace, J. F. (1993). Diverse pathways to deficient self-regulation: implications for disinhibitory psychopathology in children. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 699–720CrossRef Google Scholar

O'Brien, B. S., and Frick, P. J. (1996). Reward dominance: associations with anxiety, conduct problems, and psychopathy in children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24, 223–39CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Ollendick, T. H., Weist, M. D., Borden, M. C., and Greene, R. W. (1992). Sociometric status and academic, behavioral, and psychological adjustment: a five-year longitudinal study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 80–7CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Oosterlaan, J., and Sergeant, J. A. (1996). Inhibition in ADHD, aggressive, and anxious children: a biologically based model of child psychopathology. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24, 19–36CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Parker, J. G., and Asher, S. R. (1987). Peer relations and later personal adjustment: are low-accepted children at risk. Psychological Bulletin, 102, 357–89CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Parker, J. G., and Asher, S. R. (1993). Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood: links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. Developmental Psychology, 29, 611–21CrossRef Google Scholar

Parker, J. G., Rubin, K. H., Price, J. M., and DeRosier, M. E. (1995). In D. Cicchetti and D. Cohen (eds.), Developmental psychopathology, risk, disorder, and adaptation. New York: Wiley, vol. 2, 96–161

Patterson, C. M., and Newman, J. P. (1993). Reflectivity and learning from aversive events: toward a psychological mechanism for the syndromes of disinhibition. Psychological Review, 100, 716–36CrossRef Google Scholar

Price, J. M. and Dodge, K. (1989). Reactive and proactive aggression in childhood: relations to peer status and social context dimensions. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 17, 455–71CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Pulkkinen, L. (1982). Self-control and continuity from childhood to late adolescence. In P. B. Baltes and O. Brim, Jr. (eds.), Life-span development and behavior. New York: Academic Press, vol. 4, 63–105

Pulkkinen, L., and Hämäläinen, M. (1995). Low self-control as a precursor to crime and accidents in a Finnish longitudinal study. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 5, 424–38CrossRef Google Scholar

Pulkkinen, L., and Pitkänen, T. (1994). A prospective study of the precursors to problem drinking in young adulthood. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55, 578–87CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Robins, R. W., John, O. P., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., and Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1996). Resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled boys: three replicable personality types. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 157–71CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Rothbart, M. K. (1989). Biological processes of temperament. In G. A. Kohnstamm, J. Bates, and M. K. Rothbart (eds.), Handbook of temperament in childhood. New York: Wiley, 77–110

Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., and Hershey, K. L. (1994). Temperament and social behavior in childhood. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 40, 21–39Google Scholar

Rothbart, M. K., and Bates, J. E. (1998). Temperament. In W. Damon (Series Editor) and N. Eisenberg (Volume Editor), Handbook of child psychology. Social, emotional, personality development. New York: Wiley, vol. 3, 105–76

Rothbart, M. K., Posner, M. I., and Hershey, K. L. (1995). In D. Cicchetti and J. D. Cohen (eds.), Developmental psychopathology: theory and methods. New York: Wiley, vol. 1, 315–40

Rothbart, M. K., Ziaie, H., and O'Boyle, C. G. (1992). Self-regulation and emotion in infancy. New Directions in Child Development, 55, 7–23CrossRef Google Scholar

Rubin, K. H., Bukowski, W., and Parker, J. G. (1998). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In W. Damon (Series Editor) and N. Eisenberg (Volume Editor), Handbook of child psychology: social, emotional, and personality development (5th edn.), vol. 3: Social, emotional and personality development, 77–110, New York: Wiley

Rusting, C. L., and Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1998). Regulating responses to anger: effects of rumination and distraction on angry mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 790–803CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Sandler, I. N., Tein, J., and West, S. G. (1994). Coping, stress and the psychological symptoms of children of divorce: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Child Development, 65, 1744–63CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Sanson, A., Prior, M., and Kyrios, M. (1990). Contamination of measures in temperament research. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 36, 179–92Google Scholar

Shedler, J., and Block, J. (1990). Adolescent drug use and psychological health: a longitudinal inquiry. American Psychologist, 45, 612–30CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Stice, E., and Gonzales, N. (1998). Adolescent temperament moderates the relation of parenting to antisocial behavior and substance use. Journal of Adolescent Research, 13, 5–31CrossRef Google Scholar

Teglasi, H., and MacMahon, B. H. (1990). Temperament and common problem behaviors of children. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 11, 331–49CrossRef Google Scholar

Tellegen, A. (1985). Structures of mood and personality and their relevance to assessing anxiety, with an emphasis on self-report. In A. H. Tuma and J. D. Maser (eds.), Anxiety and anxiety disorders. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 681–706

Thompson, R. A. (1994). Emotional regulation: a theme in search of definition. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59 (Serial No. 240), 25–52CrossRef

Thompson, R. A., Flood, M. F., and Lundquist, L. (1995). Emotion regulation: its relations to attachment and developmental psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti and S. L. Toth (eds.), Emotion, cognition, and representation. Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology, University of Rochester Press, vol. 6, 261–99

Watson, D., Clark, L. A., and Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–70CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Weinberger, D. A., and Schwartz, G. E. (1990). Distress and restraint as superordinate dimensions of self-reported adjustment: a typological perspective. Journal of Personality, 58, 381–417CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed