Relations between emotional expression and subjective adjustment to the classroom

Abstract

The present study investigated relations between children's emotional expression in their classroom and their subjective adjustment to the classroom. Self-report data were obtained from 70 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classes (N = 1,972 children), and reports were obtained from their teachers (N = 70). The results of a multilevel analysis suggested that the children's positive emotional expression was positively correlated with their subjective adjustment to their classroom, whereas their negative emotional expression was negatively correlated with their subjective adjustment to their classroom. Furthermore,an interaction was found between the children's positive and negative emotional expression and some aspects of adjustment, specifically, their sense of comfort and sense of fulfillment. The results also suggested that children in classrooms with higher positive emotional expression reported higher subjective adjustment, whereas children in classrooms with higher negative emotional expression reported lower subjective adjustment.