Previous studies have supported the claim that emotion regulation predicts the improved development of executive function, and vice versa in preschool children. However, we know little about how those relationships unfold in school-age children. To address this discrepancy, Halse et al. (2024) conducts a longitudinal study to examine emotion regulation and executive functioning in children between ages 6-14. 

In this study, 852 children and their parents were invited from Norway biennially. Halse and colleagues (2024) utilized two questionnaires: the teacher version of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-T; Gioia et al., 2000) for teachers to complete, and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC; Shields & Cicchetti, 1997) for parents to complete. To examine the participants’ executive functioning, BRIEF-T assessed three core aspects of executive functioning: working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility (Diamond, 2013). On the other hand, ERC was used to investigate how the children regulate their emotions, in which the parents were to describe their children’s responses to emotional scenarios. The ERC questionnaire form consisted of two subscales: lability/negativity and emotion regulation. The lability/negativity subscale assessed dysregulated negative affect, inflexibility, and lability. In contrast, the second subscale assessed emotional self-awareness, appropriate emotional expression, and empathy. Overall, Halse et al. (2024) discovered that improved emotion regulation predicts the progressive development of executive functioning at the within-person level. However, this was not consistent in the opposite direction of the relationship: executive functioning does not predict improved emotion regulation. Additionally, amidst the successes of this longitudinal study, these findings are limited to the ages of 6 through 14, therefore the relationship between emotion regulation and executive functions can be different before and after these ages. 

Inadequate emotion regulation can impede positive interactions with peers and reduce the use and development of executive functioning. This can lead to cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties (Halse et al., 2022; Jacobson et al., 2011). These results indicate the need for guidance during the development of children’s emotion regulation skills to promote the growth of their executive functions. For example, parents and teachers can seek effective coping mechanisms to help children work through their emotions during frustrating situations. This study aligns with EPIC’s research on the impact of emotions on coping with failures, paving a future direction for EPIC’s studies on how students’ executive functioning is affected by their emotion regulation in the face of a setback. 

If you are interested in reading more about Halse et al.’s (2024) study, click this link to retrieve the article:

https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdev.14096

This post is written by Eliza Hong. 

References:

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64(64), 135–168. 

https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750

Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., & Kenworthy, L. (2000). Behavior rating inventory of executive function. Child Neuropsychology, 6(3), 235–238. https://doi.org/10.1076/chin.6.3.235.3152

Halse, M., Steinsbekk, S., Hammar, Å., & Wichstrøm, L. (2022). Longitudinal relations between impaired executive function and symptoms of psychiatric disorders in childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63, 1574–1582.

Halse, M., Steinsbekk, S., Bjørklund, O., Hammar, Å., & Wichstrøm, L. (2024). Emotions or cognitions first? Longitudinal relations between executive functions and emotion regulation in childhood. Child Development.

Jacobson, L. A., Williford, A. P., & Pianta, R. C. (2011). The role of executive function in children's competent adjustment to middle school. Child Neuropsychology, 17(3), 255–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2010.535654

Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Emotion regulation among school-age children: The development and validation of a new criterion Q-sort scale. Developmental Psychology, 33(6), 906–916. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.33.6.906