Compreensão e regulação das emoções : suas relações com a eficácia na interação social em criança

Tese de doutoramento, Psicologia (Psicologia da Educação), Universidade de Lisboa e Universidade de Coimbra, 2016Emotions have a decisive impact on psychological, social and academic adjustment. Emotional competence, specifically its dimensions of emotion understanding and emotion regulation have been considered important predictors of social competence and academic success in children. Educational psychologists need to obtain scientifically based recommendations on how they can intervene in face of cases related to social and emotional problems, as long as they are one of the main problems they have in schools. At the same time, these studies will be relevant to the preparation and implementation of prevention programs for risk behaviors, based on social and emotional development. Based on the Ford approach (1982, 2007), we conceptualize social competence as effectiveness in interaction with peers at school. For school-aged children, interaction with peers is essential for their harmonious development. Emotion understanding is defined herein using the approach Harris (1989, 2008), which involves the recognition of facial expressions of emotions; the causes of emotions; taking other’s perspective; the influence of beliefs and intentions; the existence of mixed emotions; the ability to conceal or hide the emotions, and the effect of moral beliefs about the emergence of emotions. Finally, the emotion regulation is associated with the change of emotional experience and expression in order to achieve a superordinate goal that with which the emotion may interfere if it is not regulated (Thompson, 1994). This thesis seeks to answer the following research question: "How are emotion understanding and emotion regulation related to social competence in school-aged children?". To this end two studies were conducted, which resulted in eight articles (6 of which are present in this thesis). In study 1 we tried, on the one hand, to understand how emotion understanding and social competence are related. On the other hand, study the influence of emotion understanding and social competence on school performance. Also as part of this study we sought to contribute to the adaptation and validation of assessment instruments for social competence and understanding of emotions. In study 1 182 children were assessed with the Social Competence Assessment Scale (SCAP-P, Rocha, Candeias & Lopes-da-Silva, 2015a) and the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC; Pons et al, 2002 and 2004). Each child was assessed with SCAP-P by three rates (self-assessment, peers and teacher), we calculated a composite score and scores per rated. The TEC was administered individually to each child. SCAP-P (presented in article 1) has adequate psychometric characteristics, despite the fact that the self-assessment version have more modest indicators. The construct validity was assessed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis that confirmed our proposition that there is a common factor to the three sources of assessment. Thus, we concluded that the assessment made by the child, peer and teachers, PACS-P can be aggregated into a composite score. Although each evaluator has a particular perspective on the social competence of the child, they all share a common perspective with regard to effectiveness in interaction with peers. TEC (presented in article 2) has appropriate values in terms of sensitivity, except for their most basic components (recognition and external causes). To analyze the distribution of components of the TEC we used the Multidimensional Scaling (specifically the Similarity Structure Analysis). The structure of our data is similar to the original studies (Pons and Harris, 2000; Pons, Harris & Doudin, 2002; Pons, Lawson, Harris & Rosnay, 2003). We found that the components 9 are distributed according to what has been seen previously along the facets "external aspects", "mental aspects" and "reflective aspects", except for the component "desire", which may be due to the fact that our sample have a narrower range of ages than the original studies. Article 3 studied the relationship between the emotion understanding emotions and social competence. For this purpose we used multidimensional scaling, specifically the technique "external variable as point." According to our results, we found that the ratings of social competence of peers and teachers are the most predictive of the level of emotion understanding. The nuances of social competence more linked to prosocial behavior are considered more related to the understanding of emotions. On the other hand, we found that emotion understanding facets "mental aspects" and "reflective aspects", and specifically its component "belief," "mixed emotions" and "hide" are the most related to the social competence of children. Article 4 focused on the relationship between the emotion understanding and school performance, mediated by social competence. To this end, we tested a Structural Equation Model. School achievement was evaluated in two times, with one year time lapse. Generally, the results of our study demonstrate that the understanding of emotions prediction of school achievement is mediated by social competence. Emotion understanding is predictive of social competence, and this is predictive of school performance. The school achievement in time 1 is predictive of school achievement in time 2. Socio-demographic variables (age, years of education of the mother and gender) were also included in the model, but only the mother's education proved to be predictive of social competence and academic achievement in times 1 and 2. Article 5 sought to achieve the goal of contributing to the conceptual definition and delimitation of emotion regulation in children in the context of Portuguese-speaking countries. Specifically, this article made historical review of the study of the regulation of emotions in childhood; then we sought to differentiate emotion regulation against other contiguous constructs (e.g., coping and emotional intelligence), to then provide a consensual definition in regard to some relevant issues (e.g., regulating emotions and emotional regulation, self-regulation and regulation external emotions). We also presented some reflection questions that will guide future studies. In study 2, we tried to respond to the goal of contributing to check the adequacy of Regulatory Focus Theory (Higgins, 1997) for understanding the process of regulation of emotions in critical situations of social interaction with peers at school. According to this theory, in face of the need for self-regulation, individuals tend to have two focuses on regulation: promotion or prevention. Individuals who have a promotion focus aredriven by competence needs, using more approach strategies. While individuals focused on prevention are driven by security needs, they tend to use more avoidance strategies. We selected two groups of children from the initial sample: the 20 children with the highest level of social competence and the 20 with the lowest level. In article 6 ww did a qualitative research using vignettes that elicit negative emotions, covering critical social situations with peers at school. We interviewed the 40 children using these vignettes. The interviews were coded in the following categories: causal attribution, perception of intentionality, elicited emotion, intensity of emotion, strategies for emotion regulation, personal goals of the strategies used and the perception of interpersonal consequences of strategies used. These two groups of children (with high and low level of social competence) were compared regarding these variables. Both groups showed a similar frequency in the reference to external causes and the presence of intentionality to explain the behavior of the perpetrator. Sadness and anger were emotions most referred d in both groups. The high social competence group had a focus on promotion regarding the use of strategies, personal goals and interpersonal outcomes, while the low social competence group demonstrated a prevention focus. The first group has also shown a slightly higher level of regulatory fit (between the strategies used and goals). With this study we were able to characterize the process of regulation of emotions in children and confirm the suitability of Regulatory Focus Theory for understanding this problem. The theoretical and practical contributions of these studies are discussed at the end of each article and the thesis.Fundo Social Europeu (FSE, Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional 2007-2013, Programa Operacional Potencial Humano - POPH