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Social and Emotional Development in Middle Childhood
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: Nov 30, 2010
Pages: 56 - 61
Sources ID: 91441
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
Social and emotional development (SED) entails the acquisition of skills for expressing and regulating emotions, and managing social relationships. During middle childhood, with the transition to primary school and increasing involvement with peers, important gains are made refining rudimentary skills developed during the preschool years. From 6 to 12 years children develop multiple strategies for autonomously regulating emotions and managing relationships in increasingly sophisticated ways. The efficiency with which this occurs is influenced by complex interactions among multiple personal and contextual factors. Personal factors include genetic endowment, temperament, cognitive abilities, self-esteem, social cognition and moral development. Contextual factors include attachment, parenting style, parental adjustment, family functioning, school environment, peer group relationships, and the wider social and cultural environment. There is significant continuity in social emotional development from middle childhood to adolescence. Prevention and treatment programmes have been developed to address SED problems.