Abstract:
The current study examined whether prosocial, social, and psychological
development in children are more strongly associated with an overall understanding of
emotions, or whether certain aspects of development are associated with specific
components of emotion understanding. 38 children aged between 6 and 9 years old
were administered the Test of Emotion Comprehension and the Kusche Affective
Interview-Revised. Their parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties
Questionnaire. Overall emotion understanding was found to be associated with
conduct problems. Specific components of emotion understanding were associated
with peer and emotional problems and inattention-hyperactivity. Prosocial behaviour
was not significantly associated with emotion understanding. Results suggest that
social and psychological development are primarily associated with specific
components of emotion understanding rather than overall understanding.
