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. 2020 Aug 7;17(16):5726.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165726.

The Relationship between Emotion Regulation and Emotion Knowledge in Preschoolers: A Longitudinal Study

Beatriz Lucas-Molina  1 , Laura Quintanilla  2 , Renata Sarmento-Henrique  3 , Javier Martín Babarro  4 , Marta Giménez-Dasí  4
Affiliations

The Relationship between Emotion Regulation and Emotion Knowledge in Preschoolers: A Longitudinal Study

Beatriz Lucas-Molina et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown the important role of both emotion regulation (ER) and emotion knowledge (EK) in child development. Despite the number of studies carried out on both variables, there is practically no research on the developmental relationship between these two constructs. We present a longitudinal study to explore the relationship between EK and ER in preschoolers in which we measured these variables over 3 academic years in a cohort of 108 preschool children using the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC). The ERC is divided into 2 subscales: Emotional Regulation (ER) and Lability/Negativity (L/N). Two cross-lagged models were constructed in order to examine the predictive power of ER and L/N on EK across the three time points. The results suggest that ER is an ability that precedes and predicts EK during preschool years. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Keywords: emotion knowledge; emotion regulation; longitudinal study; preschool years.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cross-lagged model for testing the longitudinal association between emotion knowledge and emotion regulation across the three measurement times. Values are standardized coefficients. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cross-lagged model for testing the longitudinal association between emotion knowledge and emotion lability/negativity across the three measurement times. Values are standardized coefficients. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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