Identifying the role of emotion regulation strategies in predicting school adjustment in late childhood and adolescence

Abstract

Emotion regulation (ER) strategies, as conceptualised within the influential process model of ER (Gross, 1998), are found to be important predictors of psychological outcomes in adults. Less research has examined the use of ER strategies in late childhood and adolescence. However adolescence is a key period of pubertal and environmental changes leading to higher demands to regulate emotions. This thesis had two goals; to understand the origins of ER strategy use in late childhood and adolescence, and its associations for school adjustment; and to examine ER strategy use across the primary-secondary transition. The systematic literature review recognised important influences on the use of ER strategies including interpersonal (gender, age, culture, and temperament) and intrapersonal (parenting behaviour and attachment style) factors. In addition, significant correlates of ER strategies that impact on school adjustment, including internalising and externalising behaviour, self-concept and social competence, were identified. Two commonly used ER strategies of cognitive reappraisal (CR) and expressive suppression (ES) were reported to be associated with significant outcomes for school adjustment.

A longitudinal study examined the use of CR and ES in 68 10 – 11 year olds over the transition from primary to secondary school in the UK. It was expected that pre-transition ER strategy use would predict post-transition social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes. Contrary to predictions, regression analyses did not support a predictive association between pre-transition ER strategy use and post-transition outcomes at secondary school. However, post-transition ES was significantly negatively associated with concurrent educational progress and self-perceived global self-worth and positively associated with behavioural difficulties. Post-transition CR was also positively associated with concurrent self-perceived global self-worth. No significant gender differences or changes in strategy use over time were found. The findings contribute to our understanding of ER strategy use in early adolescence in primary and secondary school settings.

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ORCID for Jana Kreppner: orcid.org/0000-0003-3527-9083

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