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Bidirectional associations between emotions and school adjustment
Author(s) -
Hernández Maciel M.,
Eisenberg Nancy,
Valiente Carlos,
Spinrad Tracy L.,
Berger Rebecca H.,
VanSchyndel Sarah K.,
Silva Kassondra M.,
Diaz Anjolii,
Thompson Marilyn S.,
Gal Diana E.,
Southworth Jody
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/jopy.12361
Subject(s) - expressivity , psychology , developmental psychology , context (archaeology) , well being , prosocial behavior , emotionality , quality (philosophy) , social psychology , epistemology , psychotherapist , biology , paleontology , philosophy , genetics
Abstract Objective We examined the relations of children's ( N = 301) observed expression of negative and positive emotion in classes or nonclassroom school contexts (i.e., lunch and recess) to school adjustment from kindergarten to first grade. Method Naturalistic observations of children's emotional expressivity were collected, as were teachers' reports of children's school engagement and relationship quality with teachers and peers. Results In longitudinal panel models, greater teacher–student conflict and lower student engagement in kindergarten predicted greater negative expressivity in both school contexts. School engagement and peer acceptance in kindergarten positively predicted first grade positive emotion in the classroom. Suggestive of possible bidirectional relations, there was also small unique prediction (near significant) from negative expressivity at lunch and recess to higher teacher–student conflict, from negative expressivity in the classroom to low peer acceptance, and from positive expressivity in the classroom to higher peer acceptance. Conclusions The pattern of findings suggests that the quality of experience at school uniquely predicts children's emotional expressivity at school more consistently than vice versa—a finding that highlights the important role of school context in young children's emotionality at school.