Emotion Regulation, Peer Acceptance and Rejection, and Emotional-Behavioral Problems in School-Aged Children.

BACKGROUND/

objectivesChildren showing emotional-behavioral problems experience lower psychosocial well-being concurrently and in later stages. Developmental research suggests that emotion regulation abilities and the quality of peer relationships play a central role in predicting several behavioral and emotional difficulties. The present study investigates the way emotion regulation skills and peer acceptance and rejection contribute to behavior problems in a sample of Italian schoolers, also verifying the role of gender.

methodsThe participants were 220 children (97 boys) aged between 7 and 9 years attending four primary schools in northern Italy. The level of social acceptance and rejection of each child was measured using the sociometric technique of Peer Nomination. In addition, the Emotion Regulation Checklist filled in by the teachers, and the Child Behavior Checklist, completed by the parents, were used to assess children's emotion regulation abilities and the presence of behavior difficulties, respectively.

resultsThe main results confirm that behavioral problems are both negatively associated with emotional regulation skills and positively with the social rejection level. However, the impact of peer rejection on the manifestation of problem behavior is fully mediated by children's ability to regulate their emotions. Interestingly, this pattern of interrelationships only applies to male participants.

conclusionsThe study helps to clarify the mechanism through which the degree of peer rejection influences emotional-behavioral difficulties and emphasizes the importance of considering gender-specific processes within interpersonal risk models of problem behavior.