Emotion Regulation in Early Childhood: A Building Block

to SuccessKristin Rezzetano, M.S.Ed., Stephanie Marshall,

M.S.Ed., & Kara McGoey, Ph.D.

Background

Self RegulationEssential for adaptive and independent functioningEmotion regulationIncludes emotional lability, flexibility, and contextual response

Alink, Cicchetti, Kim, & Rogosch, 2009; Kopp, 1989; Thompson & Goodvin, 2007

Development of Emotion Regulation

Infancy• <6m. – dependent on caregivers• Temperament

• Research supports increased negativity/proneness to distress in certain infants

• Rudimentary ER abilities begin to develop • Turning head away, sucking, object

play

• Social referencing/theory of mind develop

Development of Emotion Regulation

Toddlerhood– Locomotion allows for moving

away, toward objects as emotion regulation

– Language develops – increased emotional understanding and ability to express emotions• Emotions are in reference to

something-agent of change• Understand

advantages/disadvantages of emotional displays

Development of Emotion Regulation

Preschool– Must learn to regulate emotions

given the demands of the situation

• Home vs. Preschool

– Language continues to develop– (e.g., “use your words”)

– Temper tantrums may persist in moments of extreme emotion

– Peer relationships

Development of Emotion Regulation

Childhood– More sophisticated cognitive

components – may re-evaluate situation or deny negative elements rather than removing themselves

– Social/cultural/gender norms influence ER

Adolescence– Increased development of

prefrontal cortex • Integration of emotion, cognition, &

behavior

Emotion Regulation &Social Competence

Social Competence• Success in interacting

socially with others (Fabes, Gaertner, & Popp, 2006)

– Associated with school readiness, academic achievement, fewer behavioral problems, higher ER

– Negative emotional expression, lack of emotion regulation, deficient emotional expression, insecure attachment all related to difficulties with SC (Denham, 2002)

Emotion Regulation & Academic Functioning

• Relationship between emotion regulation, emotion knowledge/language, social competence, and academic skills and motivation (Eisenberg, Sadovsky, & Spinrad, 2005)

• Emotional lability predicted by socially negative behavior in the classroom, related to maladaptive learning; early socially negative behavior related to maladaptive learning later in school year (Fantuzzo, Bulotsky-Shearer, Fusco, & McWayne, 2005)

Assessment

• Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC; Shields & Cicchetti, 1997)– Two dimensions: Emotion

Regulation & Lability/Negativity

– 24-items, 4-point Likert scale– Teachers can complete– Children ages 6 to 12

Emotion Regulation Checklist – Sample Items

• Emotion Regulation dimension: empathy, self-awareness of emotion, appropriateness of emotional displays– “Is empathic toward others”,

“Can say when she/he is feeling sad, angry or mad, fearful or afraid”, “Exhibits wide mood swings”(Fantuzzo et al., 2005, p. 263)

Assessment

• Emotion Regulation Q-Sort (Shields & Cicchetti, 1997)– Uses the California Child Q-

Set (CCQ; Block & Block, 1980)

– 10 items reflecting positive and negative emotion regulation strategies

Emotion Regulation Q-Sort: Sample Items

Positive:• “Can recover from stress”• “Is empathic”Negative:• “Goes to pieces under stress”• “Is easily irritated”

Assessment

• Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ: Gross & John, 2003)

– Measures cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression of emotions

– 10 items (6 cognitive, 4 expressive) on 7-point Likert scale

ERQ: Sample Items

Reappraisal: – “When I want to feel less negative

emotion, I change the way I’m thinking about the situation”

– “I control my emotions by changing the way I think about the situation I’m in”

Suppression:– “I keep my emotions to myself”– “When I am feeling positive

emotions, I am careful not to express them”

Assessment

• Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment (PSRA; Smith-Donald, Raver, Hayes, & Richardson, 2007)– “Portable” assessment of

preschoolers’ regulatory skills in behavioral, attentional, and emotional domains

– Scores based on direct assessment and behavioral report

PRSA

• Sample items– Direct Tasks

• Balance Beam, Pencil Tap, Tower, Toy Sorting, Toy Wrap, Snack Delay, Tongue Task

– Examiner Report• Intensity and frequency of

anger/irritability, sadness, positive emotions

• 3-point Likert scale rating

PRSA

• Toolkit available online at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/ihdsc/csrp/psra– Includes script, assessor

report, score sheet, code sheet, training materials

– English and Spanish versions available

– Certification opportunities

Assessment: Other Methods

• Direct Assessment/Observation– Disappointment task

• Provide child with undesirable toy as reward for completing task

• Observe response: Is child actively regulating emotion? Passively managing emotion? Acting disruptively?

• See Feng, Shaw, Kovacs, Lane, O’Rourke, & Alarcon (2008)

Intervention

• Call for use of interventions to address emotion regulation in the school environment to promote behavioral and academic success (Raver, Garner, & Smith-Donald, 2007)– Promotion of self-regulation for all children– Practice emotion regulation in multiple

contexts– Differentiating externalizing/aggressive

behavior from dysregulated behavior– Emotion regulation can be learned through

play (Bodrova & Leong, 2005)

Intervention

• The Incredible Years (TIY; Webster-Stratton, 2008)– Intervention program designed

for children ages 0-12– Parent, Teacher, and Child

training programs– BASIC Preschool/Early Childhood

program developed for children ages 3-6 • Addresses social, emotional, and

school readiness skills

The Incredible Years

• Parenting Program (BASIC)– Positive parenting: setting limits,

addressing misbehavior, providing praise, encouraging positive play skills

• Dina Dinosaur Program – Child training: social problem solving,

managing frustration, perspective taking, behavior, empathy

• Teacher Classroom Management Program– Behavior management

The Incredible Years BASIC Early Childhood Parent

Program• Program 1

– Strengthening Children’s Social Skills, Emotion Regulation, and School Readiness Skills

• Program 2– Using Praise and Incentives to Encourage

Cooperative Behavior

• Program 3– Positive Discipline – Rules, Routines and

Effective Limit Setting

• Program 4– Positive Discipline – Handling Misbehavior

The Incredible YearsDina Dinosaur Treatment

Program

• Program 1– How to Do Your Best in School

• Program 2– Understanding and Detecting Feelings

• Identifying self and others’ feelings, changing negative emotions to positive

• Program 3– Detective Wally Teaches Problem-Solving

Steps• 7-step problem-solving and anger

management

• Program 4– Molly Manners Teaches How to Be Friendly

The Incredible YearsTeacher Classroom Management

Program

• Anger Management/Emotion Regulation

• Providing stability/consistency, accepting emotions and emotional expressions, using feeling language, discouraging physical/verbal aggression to express emotions, teaching self-calming techniques

Second Step, 1997

• A research based program created by the Committee for Children

• School-based social skills curriculum that includes teacher friendly curricula, training for educators, and parent education components.

• Intended for children from preschool through grade nine

* Committee for Children

Second StepPreschool/Kindergarten

Curriculum

• Thirty-six lessons divided into three units– Empathy Training – Impulse Control – Anger management

• Lessons include songs, role plays, and puppet activities

• Each lesson is 20-30 minutes long.

Second StepBarriers to implementation

• Schedule of implementation • Content of the lessons (concrete

vs. abstract)• External and environmental factors• Teacher “buy-in”, support, and

commitment • Lack of training for Second Step• Cost

Embedded Interventions

• Interventions that can be embedded within everyday interactions to promote Social Competence and Emotion Regulation

• School-wide, Class-wide or Individual

Modeling and Role Playing

• Verbalize emotions• Model coping strategies• Model identification and

problem solving when emotional

• Create role plays/scenarios to help children practice when not in crisis

Guide Children in Problem Solving

• Create a script or routine for solving conflicts in the classroom

• Create a script or routine for managing emotions

• Adult can guide child to use routine when upset

• Create specific emotional outlets– Anger box– Excitement exclamation

Other Intervention Ideas

• Anger-mometer• Video modeling• DIY Tucker Turtle• Social Stories

Anger-mometer

• Can be used to identify or reflect on situations in which child felt angry

• May include pictures or words

• Ask child at what point on anger-mometer there is danger of “losing control”

Anger-mometer

Video modeling

• Peer and adult modeling of prosocial behaviors

• Videotape the child exhibiting positive behavioral interactions

• Discuss what happened, feelings of persons involved

DIY Tucker Turtle

• 4-step program used to teach the “Turtle Technique”– how to control feelings and calm down– 1) Recognize your feeling(s)– 2) Think “stop”– 3) Tuck inside your “shell” and

take 3 deep breaths – 4) Come out when calm and

think of a “solution”

Step 4

Social Stories

• Social scripts for child to follow in a given situation

• Used to address behaviors, transitions, new settings

• Include pictures and words to capture attention of child

Social Stories

Consequence of Hitting• Sometimes I get mad at my

friends. They may do something that makes me upset, like take my toys. When I am upset, I must not hit other people. Hitting is not allowed at school. This is a school rule... 

   

Conclusion

• Emotion regulation skills become increasingly refined and independent as children grow older

• Both direct assessment and self-report can be used to evaluate

abilities in emotion regulation • Intervention can be used to address

emotion regulation in schools– Early childhood curricula such as The

Incredible Years, Second Step– Embedded interventions can be

implemented across levels

ReferencesCommittee for Children. (1997). Second Step: A violence prevention

curriculum. Committee for Children.Fantuzzo, J. W., Bulotsky-Shearer, R., Fusco, R. A., & McWayne, C.

(2005). An investigation of preschool classroom behavioral adjustment problems and social-emotional school readiness competencies. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 259-275.

Feng, X., Shaw, D. S., Kovacs, M., Lane, T., O’Rourke, F. E., & Alarcon, J. H. (2008). Emotion regulation in preschoolers: the roles of behavioral inhibition, maternal affective behavior, and maternal depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 132-141.

Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 348-362.

Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Emotion regulation among school-age children: The development and validation of a new criterion q-sort scale. Developmental Psychology, 33, 906-916.

Webster-Stratton, C., & Reid, M. J. (2003). Treating conduct problems and strengthening social and emotional competence in young children: The Dina Dinosaur treatment program. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11, 130-143.

Webster-Stratton, C. (2008). The Incredible Years parent training programs. Retrieved from http://www.incredibleyears.com/program/parent.asp