Jachimowicz,
Tamara (5/10) Can they use their words? An investigation of the relationship
between language competence and emotion regulation in preschool-aged children
(Kevin Meehan, Ph.D.; Joan Duncan, Ph.D.; Nicholas Papouchis, Ph.D.)
This study examined the relationship
between language competence and emotion regulation in children between the ages
of 48 and 60 months. Thirty-one children who attended subsidized preschool
programs serving children from low SES families participated, along with their
primary caretaker. The children's receptive and expressive language
competencies were assessed using the Preschool Language Scale. Emotion
regulation was assessed using three distinct methodologies: (a) parental report
, with the Emotion Regulation Checklist; (b) a narrative measure , the
Macarthur Story Stem Battery; and (c) observationally , the Transparent Box
Task, a behavioral regulation assessment which is primarily non-verbal.
Receptive and expressive language abilities were significantly, inversely
correlated with a parent's report of their child's dysregulation. Expressive
language, but not receptive language, was also significantly correlated with a
parent's report of their child's positive emotional regulation. Both receptive
and expressive language were significantly, positively correlated with a
child's ability to tell positive, emotionally-resolved narratives. Similarly,
the variables were inversely correlated with the use of aggressive themes in
narratives. Of the two language competencies, only expressive language was found
to have relationships with any prosocial themes in narratives. Expressive
language was significantly, positively correlated with the use of verbal
conflict resolution. There was a trend for expressive language to be positively
correlated with the use of affliliative themes as well as themes of
empathy/helping, however they did not reach statistical significance. With
regards to the TBT, children had significantly higher expressive and receptive
language could open the box, persist longer, conduct themselves in a regulated
manner, and not show distractiblity. A child's ability to tell a coherent
narrative was found to mediate the significant, inverse relationship between
expressive language and dysregulation. There were no significant relationships
found between a child's request for social support while completing the TBT
with neither their language competence nor with any emotion regulation
measures. There were also no significant findings between the amount of
self-speech a child used and their receptive or expressive language competence
nor with any measures of emotion regulation.
