Group acceptance and emotional competence of preadolescent children

Abstract

This study examines contribution of emotional competence on socially competent behavior of preadolescents. The following emotional competencies were registered in 397 children: emotion recognition, emotional regulation, empathy and style of coping with aversive emotions. Discriminant analysis was conducted in order to identify emotional competencies that differentiate among the groups of participants with different levels of social preference. The data showed that groups of popular children, rejected children, and children of average sociometric status significantly differ with respect to their emotional competence. Children rejected by their peers displayed the lowest level of emotional competence.