Presenter

Abby MacLean, Psychology Department, University of Alberta

Abstract

Entry to preschool is an important period for children’s emotional development. Here, children develop emotion self-regulation skills, including the use of physical, cognitive, and behavioral strategies to modulate internal and/or external emotional expression (Denham, 2007). Effective emotion self-regulation is related to fewer depressive and anxious symptoms which can emerge as early as preschool (McCoy & Raver, 2011; Ştefan & Avram, 2017). Anxiety symptoms in childhood include excessive fearfulness and worries, while depressive symptoms include excessive sadness (Whalen, Sylvester, & Luby, 2017). The frequency of these symptoms may differ across children and over time (Côté et al., 2009; Davis, Votruba-Dzral, & Silk, 2015; Fanti & Henrich, 2010). It is possible that the way children regulate their emotions may predict variation in the patterns of change in anxious and depressive symptoms. The goals of this study are to examine: (1) if there are qualitatively distinct trajectories of depressive and anxious symptoms from preschool to kindergarten; (2) whether emotion self-regulation profiles predict these trajectories; and (3) if the trajectories and their prediction by emotion self-regulation profiles differ by gender. Participants included 443 children assessed in the fall and spring of preschool and kindergarten. Children’s emotion self-regulation was measured using a behavioral assessment. Teachers also reported on children’s depressive and anxious symptoms and emotion self-regulation. The findings of this study will help to inform teachers and parents of possible trajectories of children’s depressive and anxious symptoms and how emotion self-regulation may be related to these symptoms.

Poster

Authors & Affiliations

A. MacLean, B. Zatto, & W. Hoglund (Psychology Department, University of Alberta)