Emotion Regulation and Its Relationship to Social Competence Among Kindergarten Children in Jordan

Abstract

The study aimed at exploring the levels of emotional regulation and social competence among kindergarten children. Further, the relationship between emotional regulation and social competence and its sub-domains: (overall emotional adjustment, social interactions with peers, and social interaction with adults). Furthermore, the significant differences in the relationship between emotional regulation and social competence that are caused by gender. The study researchers used the descriptive and relational approaches to answer the study questions. After ensuring the validity and reliability of the two research instruments, they were applied among 220 (110 females, 110 males) Jordanian kindergarten children: The Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Preschool Edition (SCBE) and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC). The study results revealed that there is an average level of emotion regulation and an average level of social competence among the participants. There was a statistically significant relationship between children's emotion regulation competence and their social competence, as a correlation between emotion regulation and each of the social competence subscales (general adaptation, overall emotional adjustment, social interactions with peers, and social interactions with adults) was high and statistically significant. Finally, the results revealed that there was no statistically significant gender discrepancy in the relationship between emotion regulation and social competence. Implications and future research recommendations were discussed.