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Ornaghi V, Conte E, Cavioni V, Farina E, Pepe A. The role of teachers' socio-emotional competence in reducing burnout through increased work engagement. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1295365. [PMID: 38022976 PMCID: PMC10644694 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1295365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Research has highlighted the relevance of socio-emotional competence in buffering the harmful impacts of perceived stress on the psychological facets of the teaching profession. The purpose of this paper is to innovatively investigate the relationships between perceived stress, work engagement, and burnout in a single comprehensive model, when considering the potential role that socio-emotional competence plays in mitigating the adverse impact of perceived stress on burnout. Methods A total of 276 Italian in-service teachers (mean age = 46.6 ± 9.9 years) completed quantitative self-report measures of perceived stress, socio-emotional competence, work engagement, and burnout. Data were analyzed by using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Results All fit indexes supported the model's full acceptance and suggested that teachers' socio-emotional competence reduced the effect of perceived stress on the risk of burnout by increasing their level of work engagement. Discussion The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of promoting interventions that target not only stress reduction but also foster teachers' socio-emotional competence in order to maintain a good level of work engagement and reduce the effect of stress on burnout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Ornaghi
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Conte
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Valeria Cavioni
- Department of Humanistic Studies, Literature, Cultural Heritage, Education Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Eleonora Farina
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandro Pepe
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Cavioni V, Conte E, Grazzani I, Ornaghi V, Cefai C, Anthony C, Elliott SN, Pepe A. Validation of Italian students' self-ratings on the SSIS SEL brief scales. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1229653. [PMID: 37868591 PMCID: PMC10585268 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1229653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Despite increasing interest in measuring social and emotional learning (SEL), there is a lack of European-validated tools for assessing the efficacy of SEL programs. The aim of this study was to validate an Italian version of the social skills improvement system (SSIS) SEL brief scales-student form. Methods Participants were 1,175 students (mean age: 11.02 years; SD: 2.42; range: 8-16 years; males: 46.8%) recruited at schools in Northern Italy. Statistical analyses and results Initial confirmatory factor analysis encountered a series of challenges, implying non-convergence of the original five-factor measurement model (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making) based on the Collaborative on Academic Social Emotional Learning (CASEL) competency framework established with students in the United States. Further exploratory and confirmatory analyses supported a four-factor model that remained partially invariant across gender groups. The Italian version of the SSIS SEL brief scales was thus shown to be an efficient measurement tool for estimating social and emotional learning in students. Discussion We discuss the implications of findings in relation to selecting valid and reliable instruments for assessing children's and adolescents' SEL competencies, while considering the culturally-situated nature of the constructs under study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Cavioni
- Department of Humanities, Literature, Cultural Heritage, Education Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Conte
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Ilaria Grazzani
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Ornaghi
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Carmel Cefai
- Department of Psychology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Christopher Anthony
- School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Stephen N. Elliott
- Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Alessandro Pepe
- “R. Massa” Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Sander-Montant A, López Pérez M, Byers-Heinlein K. The more they hear the more they learn? Using data from bilinguals to test models of early lexical development. Cognition 2023; 238:105525. [PMID: 37402336 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Children have an early ability to learn and comprehend words, a skill that develops as they age. A critical question remains regarding what drives this development. Maturation-based theories emphasise cognitive maturity as a driver of comprehension, while accumulator theories emphasise children's accumulation of language experience over time. In this study we used archival looking-while-listening data from 155 children aged 14-48 months with a range of exposure to the target languages (from 10% to 100%) to evaluate the relative contributions of maturation and experience. We compared four statistical models of noun learning: maturation-only, experience-only, additive (maturation plus experience), and accumulator (maturation times experience). The best-fitting model was the additive model in which both maturation (age) and experience were independent contributors to noun comprehension: older children as well as children who had more experience with the target language were more accurate and looked faster to the target in the looking-while-listening task. A 25% change in relative language exposure was equivalent to a 4 month change in age, and age effects were stronger at younger than at older ages. Whereas accumulator models predict that the lexical development of children with less exposure to a language (as is typical in bilinguals) should fall further and further behind children with more exposure to a language (such as monolinguals), our results indicate that bilinguals are buffered against effects of reduced exposure in each language. This study shows that continuous-level measures from individual children's looking-while-listening data, gathered from children with a range of language experience, provide a powerful window into lexical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Sander-Montant
- Concordia Infant Research Lab, Department of Psychology, Concordia University (Canada), 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, PY-033, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada.
| | - Melanie López Pérez
- Concordia Infant Research Lab, Department of Psychology, Concordia University (Canada), 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, PY-033, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada.
| | - Krista Byers-Heinlein
- Concordia Infant Research Lab, Department of Psychology, Concordia University (Canada), 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, PY-033, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada.
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Guo EY, Leblanc É, Dégeilh F, Beauchamp MH, Bernier A. Prospective associations between maternal mind-mindedness, child theory of mind, and brain morphology in school-aged children. Soc Neurosci 2023; 18:218-231. [PMID: 37691563 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2023.2257882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
Mentalizing is defined as the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. In the context of parental behavior, parents' tendency to comment on their child's mental activities refers to the concept of mind-mindedness (MM). MM has been positively associated with various developmental outcomes in children, notably their own ability to mentalize, known as theory of mind (ToM). Although parental (MM) and child (ToM) mentalizing have important implications during childhood, their associations with children's neural structures are largely unknown. Among 62 mother-child dyads, maternal MM was rated from free-play sequences when children were aged 1 year, child ToM was assessed using a first-order false-belief task at 4 years of age, and structural MRI images were acquired at 10 years of age. Maternal MM was positively associated with gray matter volumes (GMV) in the dorsal prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal pole. Child ToM abilities were positively associated with GMV in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Though cortical regions associated with MM and ToM showed no anatomical overlap, many are functionally connected through a neural network highly involved in self-referential strategies for mentalizing. These findings suggest that MM and ToM may contribute to distinct sub-processes that collectively support social cognition development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elie YuTong Guo
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Élizabel Leblanc
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Fanny Dégeilh
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Canada
- CNRS Inria, Inserm, IRISA, Univ Rennes Rennes France
| | - Miriam H Beauchamp
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
- Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montreal, Canada
| | - Annie Bernier
- Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
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Conte E, Cavioni V, Ornaghi V, Agliati A, Gandellini S, Santos MF, Santos AC, Simões C, Grazzani I. Supporting Preschoolers' Mental Health and Academic Learning through the PROMEHS Program: A Training Study. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:1070. [PMID: 37371301 DOI: 10.3390/children10061070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
There is compelling evidence that early school intervention programs enhance children's development of life skills, with a positive knock-on effect on their behaviors and academic outcomes. To date, most universal interventions have displayed gains in children's social-emotional competencies with a limited reduction in problem behaviors. This may depend on programs' curricula focused to a greater extent on preschoolers' social-emotional competencies rather than problem behaviors. Promoting Mental Health at Schools (PROMEHS) is a European, school-based, universal mental health program explicitly focused on both promoting students' mental health and preventing negative conduct by adopting a whole-school approach. In this study, we set out to evaluate the effectiveness of the program for Italian and Portuguese preschoolers. We recruited 784 children (age range = 4-5 years), assigning them to either an experimental group (six months' participation in the PROMEHS program under the guidance of their teachers, who had received ad hoc training) or a waiting list group (no intervention). We found that PROMEHS improved preschoolers' social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies, prosocial behavior, and academic outcomes. The more practical activities were carried out at school, the more children's SEL competencies increased, and the more their internalizing and externalizing behaviors decreased. Furthermore, marginalized and disadvantaged children were those who benefited most from the program, displaying both greater improvements in SEL and more marked decreases in internalizing problems compared to the rest of the sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Conte
- "R. Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Valeria Cavioni
- "R. Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
- Department of Humanities, Literature, Cultural Heritage, Education Sciences, University of Foggia, 71121 Foggia, Italy
| | - Veronica Ornaghi
- "R. Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Alessia Agliati
- "R. Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Sabina Gandellini
- "R. Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
| | - Margarida Frade Santos
- Department of Education, Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Anabela Caetano Santos
- Department of Education, Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal
- Environmental Health Institute (ISAMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Celeste Simões
- Department of Education, Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ilaria Grazzani
- "R. Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
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Macheta K, Gut A, Pons F. The link between emotion comprehension and cognitive perspective taking in theory of mind (ToM): a study of preschool children. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1150959. [PMID: 37235095 PMCID: PMC10206230 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1150959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The study examined the relation between perspective taking embedded in theory of mind (ToM) and emotion comprehension (EC) in young children. Our study involved children from Poland aged 3-6 (N = 99; 54% boys) from public and private kindergartens residing mainly in urban areas, whose parents could mostly be classified as middle class. The children were examined with the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) and three tasks targeting three aspects of ToM: a first-order false belief task, an appearance-reality test, and a mental states opacity task. The results showed similarities in performances between these different measures. However, only the opacity task predicted the emotion comprehension test results (η2 = 0.13). The results indicate that the key element of ToM that explains individual differences in children's emotion comprehension is the full-blown understanding of perspective taking, namely that having access to an object under one description does not ensure access to that object under all descriptions. In the research, we took also into account the linguistic side of such specific competences as ToM and EC, which allowed us to see the role of language in scaffolding the development of children's ability to handle such socially fundamental tasks as understanding emotions and epistemic states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krystian Macheta
- Institute of Psychology, Pedagogical University of Kraków, Kraków, Poland
| | - Arkadiusz Gut
- Department of Cognitive Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Toruń, Poland
| | - Francisco Pons
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Social Cognition in Temporal and Frontal Lobe Epilepsy: Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Clinical Recommendations. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2023; 29:205-229. [PMID: 35249578 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617722000066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Despite the importance of social cognitive functions to mental health and social adjustment, examination of these functions is absent in routine assessment of epilepsy patients. Thus, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on four major aspects of social cognition among temporal and frontal lobe epilepsy, which is a critical step toward designing new interventions. METHOD Papers from 1990 to 2021 were reviewed and examined for inclusion in this study. After the deduplication process, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 44 and 40 articles, respectively, involving 113 people with frontal lobe epilepsy and 1482 people with temporal lobe epilepsy were conducted. RESULTS Our results indicated that while patients with frontal or temporal lobe epilepsy have difficulties in all aspects of social cognition relative to nonclinical controls, the effect sizes were larger for theory of mind (g = .95), than for emotion recognition (g = .69) among temporal lobe epilepsy group. The frontal lobe epilepsy group exhibited significantly greater impairment in emotion recognition compared to temporal lobe. Additionally, people with right temporal lobe epilepsy (g = 1.10) performed more poorly than those with a left-sided (g = .90) seizure focus, specifically in the theory of mind domain. CONCLUSIONS These data point to a potentially important difference in the severity of deficits within the emotion recognition and theory of mind abilities depending on the laterlization of seizure side. We also suggest a guide for the assessment of impairments in social cognition that can be integrated into multidisciplinary clinical evaluation for people with epilepsy.
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Babić Čikeš A, Cakić L, Kuti V. Emotion matching task: preliminary validation in Croatian sample. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2022.2154755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Babić Čikeš
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
| | - Lara Cakić
- Faculty of Education, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
| | - Vedrana Kuti
- Faculty of Education, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
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Channell MM, Sandstrom LE, Harvey D. Mental State Language Development in Children With Down Syndrome Versus Typical Development. AMERICAN JOURNAL ON INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2022; 127:495-510. [PMID: 36306411 DOI: 10.1352/1944-7558-127.6.495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This study compared mental state language (talk about emotions, thoughts, intentions, etc.) used by 6- to 11-year-old children with Down syndrome (DS) to a younger typically developing (TD) comparison group matched by nonverbal cognition. We aimed to determine (1) whether mental state language use is delayed in DS relative to developmental expectations, and (2) if there are differences between groups in the association between mental state language and developmental factors (emotion knowledge, expressive language). Rate of mental state language use was significantly lower in the group with DS, but the number of different mental state terms was not significantly different. Nuanced patterns of similarity and difference emerged between groups regarding the association between mental state language and other developmental factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Moore Channell
- Marie Moore Channell and Linnea E. Sandstrom, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
| | - Linnea E Sandstrom
- Marie Moore Channell and Linnea E. Sandstrom, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Clark SE, Locke RL, Baxendale SL, Seifer R. Withdrawn Behavior in Preschool: Implications for Emotion Knowledge and Broader Emotional Competence. Front Psychol 2022; 13:895557. [PMID: 35846605 PMCID: PMC9281896 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.895557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the respective roles of withdrawal, language, and context-inappropriate (CI) anger in the development of emotion knowledge (EK) among a subsample of 4 and 5 year-old preschoolers (n = 74). Measures included parent-reported withdrawn behavior, externalizing behavior, and CI anger, as well as child assessments of receptive language and EK. Ultimately, findings demonstrated that receptive language mediated the relationship between withdrawn behavior and situational EK. However, CI anger significantly interacted with receptive language, and, when incorporated into a second-stage moderated mediation analysis, moderate levels of CI anger rendered the indirect effect of withdrawn behavior on situational EK via receptive language insignificant. Cumulatively, these findings demonstrate a mechanism by which withdrawal may impact EK. They also indicate that such an effect may be attenuated in children with moderate levels of CI anger. Implications of these findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha E. Clark
- Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, United States
| | - Robin L. Locke
- Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, United States
| | - Sophia L. Baxendale
- Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA, United States
| | - Ronald Seifer
- Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
- Bradley/Hasbro Children’s Research Center, E.P. Bradley Hospital, East Providence, RI, United States
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Lee J, Choi KH. Mother-Child Social Cognition Among Multicultural Families in South Korea. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:883212. [PMID: 35845467 PMCID: PMC9277018 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.883212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Despite the rapidly growing number of multicultural families in South Korea, factors influencing parenting and mother-child interactions have not been well-understood. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to have examined how maternal social-cognitive capacity is associated with children's social cognition (e.g., theory of mind and emotion recognition) among multicultural families dwelling in South Korea. Methods Forty-seven multicultural mother-child dyads were recruited. The comprehensive measures on social cognition were administered to both the mothers and children, and social functioning and emotion regulation were administered to the children. Results A series of hierarchical regressions indicated that mothers' social cognition significantly explained children's ability to recognize static and dynamic emotional expressions, accounting for 27 and 34% of the variance, respectively. Furthermore, mothers' social cognition was significantly correlated to children's social functioning and emotion regulation. However, mothers' social cognition and children's theory of mind were non-significantly related. Discussion The current study examined the effects of social cognition of immigrant mothers on their children's socio-emotional development. As the findings indicated an important role of maternal factors (i.e., social cognition) for children's social cognition and their functions, psycho-social approaches (e.g., social cognition parenting education and training) should be incorporated in services for multicultural families.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kee-Hong Choi
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
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12
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Song Q, Smiley PA, Doan SN. The moderating effect of facial emotion recognition in maternal emotion socialization and child socioemotional adjustment. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qingfang Song
- Western Kentucky University Bowling Green Kentucky USA
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Voltmer K, von Salisch M. The Adaptive Test of Emotion Knowledge for 3-to 9-Year-Olds: Psychometric Properties and Validity. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:901304. [PMID: 35873242 PMCID: PMC9304981 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.901304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with an advanced knowledge of emotions are generally more socially competent, less likely to suffer from psychopathology, and more likely to succeed in school, both socially and academically. The assessment of children's emotion knowledge has thus gained importance in recent decades - both in psychiatric practice and in developmental and educational psychology. However, there is still a lack of appropriate instruments for assessing children's emotion knowledge in a performance test reliably, and for a broad age range. The Adaptive Test of Emotion Knowledge (ATEM 3-9) is a newly developed measure which encompasses seven components of emotion knowledge in 3-9-year-olds. The ATEM 3-9 is an adaptive test which uses skip and dropout rules to adjust for children's varying levels of knowledge. In addition to German, the ATEM has been translated into English and Hebrew. The German norming sample of the ATEM 3-9 comprises N = 882 (54% female, 21% bilingual) children between the ages of 3 and 9 years, who were divided into seven age groups. Test items, which are ordered according to the item response theory, showed a good fit to a seven-dimensional model reflecting the seven components. The internal consistencies of the dimensions are acceptable to good. Construct validity was examined by means of correlations with other measures of emotion knowledge, as well as measures on language skills and executive functions in a subsample. This resulted in medium size correlations in the expected directions. In addition, children with externalizing and internalizing disorders who were recruited in psychiatric in- and outpatient clinics showed deficits in various components of emotion knowledge when compared to their agemates in the norming sample. Overall, the ATEM 3-9 is well suited to measure individual components of emotion knowledge in children and to obtain a differentiated picture of the various aspects of emotion knowledge. The ATEM 3-9 thus supports the investigation of the development of social-emotional competencies in normative development (e.g., school readiness) and in social-emotional-learning interventions. Furthermore, it is suitable as an instrument for the differentiated assessment of (progress of) children's emotion knowledge in clinical child psychology and psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Voltmer
- Institute of Psychology, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Maria von Salisch
- Institute of Psychology, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany
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Arroyave Hurtado JP, Villada Zapata JA, Bermúdez Jaimes ME. Variabilidad y cambio en la comprensión de deseos en niños preescolares: un estudio microgenético. UNIVERSITAS PSYCHOLOGICA 2021. [DOI: 10.11144/javeriana.upsy20.vccd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Este estudio analiza la capacidad de 14 niños (35% varones) entre 2 y 3 años (M = 2.9; SD = 0.17) para comprender los deseos. La literatura ha dado por sentado que niños de esas edades comprenden deseos simples, amparándose en una postura estructuralista del desarrollo, en la que básicamente hay una descripción de hitos que están relacionados con la edad. En contraposición a esta tradición, este estudio busca dar cuenta del cambio y la variabilidad, apoyándose en la teoría de los Sistemas Dinámicos No Lineales. Por ello, usando el método microgenético, se evaluó durante varias sesiones la capacidad de los niños para usar los deseos de otros para predecir emociones y comportamientos. Se adaptaron las tareas clásicas de Wellman y Wooley (1990), y se les presentaron a los niños en 5 sesiones, en las que había 3 variaciones de las tareas. Los datos se analizaron con la técnica de mínimos y máximos, y se encontraron un conjunto de trayectorias con muchas fluctuaciones, que distan de mostrar desempeños altos y estables como lo afirman estudios previos. Se concluye que en la investigación sobre el desarrollo, las visiones acumulativas y homogéneas dificultan la observación del cambio y de la amplitud del mismo, por ello se requiere hacer hincapié en la variabilidad.
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Stella FN, Ramírez VA, Ruetti E. Individual Differences in Emotional Appraisal during Development: Analysis of the Role of Age, Gender, and Appraisal Accuracy. The Journal of Genetic Psychology 2021; 183:9-22. [PMID: 34766875 DOI: 10.1080/00221325.2021.1997896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Emotional appraisal is the process by which different responses are generated from subjective assessments of different stimuli. Children and adults can react differently to the same stimulus. Emotional appraisal is crucial to define emotional processing and its consequent response rather than the properties of the stimulus itself. Age and gender modulate emotional appraisal during development. This study analyzed emotional appraisal in children aged 4 to 8-years-old. The children's emotional appraisal responses and the appraisal accuracy to images with positive, negative, and neutral valence be compared between the different age groups, and according to the gender of the participants. About the appraisal accuracy, the comparisons indicated significant differences for positive and negative images according to the age of the participants, with no differences in the appraisal accuracy of neutral images. Differences in appraisal accuracy for negative images were observed between the 4-years-old group compared to the 7- and 8-years-old group, as well as in 5-years-old participants compared to 7-years-old. Significant differences were found for the positive and negative images between girls and boys, but no differences were found for neutral images. Girls had more appraisals accuracy for positive and negative images. This work highlights the importance of analyzing individual differences associated with emotional processing at different stages of development. This interrogates research findings in which emotional appraisal is carried out considering the valence assigned by adults and highlights the need for a methodological approach that includes individual differences in the appraisal of stimuli used during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Nicolás Stella
- Applied Neurobiology Unit, UNA, CEMIC-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Verónica Adriana Ramírez
- Applied Neurobiology Unit, UNA, CEMIC-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Eliana Ruetti
- Applied Neurobiology Unit, UNA, CEMIC-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Language modulation on emotional valence tasks in preschoolers. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-01868-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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17
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Interactional training interventions boost children’s expressive pragmatic abilities: evidence from a novel multidimensional testing approach. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.101003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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18
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Rajhi O, Halayem S, Ghazzai M, Taamallah A, Moussa M, Abbes ZS, Hajri M, Ben Yahia H, Touati M, Fakhfakh R, Bouden A. Validation of the Tunisian Social Situation Instrument in the General Pediatric Population. Front Psychol 2020; 11:557173. [PMID: 33192812 PMCID: PMC7658408 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.557173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In order to better understand the deployment of the theory of mind (ToM) in Tunisian neurotypical children, we have developed a new tool of assessment of the ToM called the “Tunisian Social Situations Instrument” (TSSI). We opted for the creation of this test in view of the intercultural differences in the development of social skills. Our purpose was to validate this tool in general pediatric population. Methods It was a cross-sectional evaluative study that aimed to validate the TSSI in the general pediatric population. We initially conducted a beta test and a pre-validation study before taking the initial version of the TSSI on 123 neurotypical children. Then, we followed the typical validation procedure: appearance validity, content validity, construct validity, and reliability study. Results Regarding the validity of appearance, the TSSI was comprehensible and adapted to the Tunisian pediatric population. About content validity, the exploratory factor analysis extracted 6 factors that explain 69.3% of the total variance. These factors were respectively social clumsiness types 1 and 2, intention attribution, emotional ToM, epistemic ToM, and simple comprehension questions. The subdomains of social clumsiness (types 1 and 2) and emotional ToM had a Cronbach alpha higher than 0.8. This factor structure as well as the significant inter-correlation between subdomains and the global score were in favor of a good construct validity. The internal consistency study showed good reliability of the final version of the TSSI (alpha of Cronbach at 0,809). Regarding the performance of children at the TSSI, we have noticed a significant association between the global score, age, and verbal intelligence. Conclusion This work offers valuable insights about ToM and provides clinicians with a reliable tool to assess social clumsiness and emotional ToM in typically developing children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olfa Rajhi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Soumeyya Halayem
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Malek Ghazzai
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Amal Taamallah
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia
| | - Mohamed Moussa
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Zeineb Salma Abbes
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Malek Hajri
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Houda Ben Yahia
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia
| | - Maissa Touati
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia
| | - Radhouane Fakhfakh
- Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.,Department of Preventive Medicine, Abderrahmen Mami Hospital, Ariana, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Asma Bouden
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi Hospital, Manouba, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
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Ornaghi V, Conte E, Grazzani I. Empathy in Toddlers: The Role of Emotion Regulation, Language Ability, and Maternal Emotion Socialization Style. Front Psychol 2020; 11:586862. [PMID: 33192920 PMCID: PMC7606909 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.586862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated, through a cross-sectional study, whether and to what extent toddlers' empathy is associated with a set of individual and family factors known to foster positive social skills in early childhood: children's own emotion regulation, language ability, and maternal emotion socialization style. Participants were 320 toddlers (M age = 28.8 months; SD = 3.55) and their mothers. The children came from middle-SES families and were recruited at 34 infant-toddler centers. We used parent-report measures to assess the toddlers' competences and a self-report questionnaire to evaluate maternal emotion socialization style (coaching vs. dismissing). Toddlers' empathic responses, as reported by their mothers, were positively and significantly correlated, respectively, with their positive emotion regulation, language skills, and maternal emotion-coaching style. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that emotion regulation and maternal emotion-coaching style contributed to explaining variance in toddlers' empathy, after controlling for the effects of children's age and language ability. Moderation analysis showed that emotion regulation skills did not moderate the relationship between maternal emotion-coaching style and children's empathy. We discuss the implications of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Ornaghi
- "Riccardo Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Conte
- "Riccardo Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Ilaria Grazzani
- "Riccardo Massa" Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Jacobs E, Simon P, Nader-Grosbois N. Social Cognition in Children With Non-specific Intellectual Disabilities: An Exploratory Study. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1884. [PMID: 32849105 PMCID: PMC7431697 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social cognitive abilities - notably, Theory of Mind (ToM) and social information processing (SIP) - are key skills for the development of social competence and adjustment. By understanding affective and cognitive mental states and processing social information correctly, children will be able to enact prosocial behaviors, to interact with peers and adults adaptively, and to be socially included. As social adjustment and inclusion are major issues for children with intellectual disabilities (IDs), the present study aimed to explore their social cognitive profile by combining cluster analysis of both ToM and SIP competence, and to investigate the structure of relations between these skills in children with IDs. Seventy-eight elementary school children with non-specific IDs were recruited. They had a chronological age ranging from 4 years and 8 months to 12 years and 6 months and presented a preschool developmental age. Performance-based measures were administered to assess ToM and SIP abilities. Questionnaires were completed by the children's parents to evaluate the children's social competence and adjustment and their risk of developing externalizing or internalizing behaviors. Exploratory analysis highlighted strengths and weaknesses in the social cognitive profiles of these children with IDs. It also emphasized that the understanding of affective and cognitive mental states was used differently when facing appropriate vs. inappropriate social behaviors. The present study leads to a better understanding of the socio-emotional profile of children with IDs and offers some suggestions on how to implement effective interventions.
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Alteration of Emotion Knowledge and Its Relationship with Emotion Regulation and Psychopathological Behavior in Children with Cerebral Palsy. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 51:1238-1248. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04605-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Cavioni V, Grazzani I, Ornaghi V, Pepe A, Pons F. Assessing the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC): A Large Cross-Sectional Study with Children Aged 3-10 Years. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2020.1741365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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