Help Me If You Can I’m Feeling Down: Supporting Children’s Emotion Regulation and Well-Being in the Primary Classroom
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Peer-reviewed
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jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pChildren living in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities face distinct stressors when compared to those from more advantaged backgrounds. Research indicates higher levels of child well-being may buffer against the negative effects of stress and adversities, with supportive teacher behaviors playing a key role in promoting well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying these connections remain unclear. Extending past research linking teacher behaviours and well-being, the present study included emotion regulation as a potential candidate mechanism that might account for these connections. Questionnaire data were collected from 508 pupils (265 female, jats:italicM</jats:italic>jats:subage</jats:sub> = 9.9) in 31 classrooms across 8 primary schools in low-socioeconomic neighbourhoods of New Zealand. Utilising multilevel modelling the study found that teacher support significantly predicted emotion regulation and well-being, and that teacher support indirectly predicted well-being through emotion regulation. Both emotion regulation and teacher behaviours are amenable to intervention; thus, a better understanding of how they work together to predict well-being is likely to inform future intervention efforts to promote children’s well-being.</jats:p>
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Acknowledgements: We are indebted to the school staff, families, and pupils who welcomed us into their communities and classrooms to share a few weeks in their lives. We also thank the Māori and Pasifika community leaders and advisors for their valuable input into the design of this study.
Funder: Cambridge Trust; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003343
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1866-2633