The present study confirmed the relationships between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy, the children's execution function and their school life adjustment. The aim of this study is to verify the mediating effects of the children’s executive func...
The present study confirmed the relationships between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy, the children's execution function and their school life adjustment. The aim of this study is to verify the mediating effects of the children’s executive function in the relationship between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children's school life adjustment. To do this, the study examined the correlations between three main variables for 47 dyads of children in the 1st and 2nd grades of elementary school and their mothers. In addition, this study explored how the maternal meta-emotion philosophy influences the children's executive function, how the children’s executive function influences their school life adjustment. Furthermore, it was confirmed whether the children's execution function plays a mediating role in the relationship between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s school life adjustment.
To research about this study, the following measures were used. First, the maternal meta-emotion philosophy was measured by using ‘Parent Meta-Emotion Interview (PMEI)’ developed by Katz and Gottman (1986) and translated into Korean by Nahm (2006). Also, the contents of the interview were coded and analyzed by using ‘Meta-Emotion Coding System’ developed by Katz et al. (1994) and translated into Korean by Nahm (2006). Next, the children's execution function was measured by using ‘Korean Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version (K-BRIEF-P)’ translated to suit the domestic situation by Seo Jung Eun and Park Hye Won (2011), which was developed by Gioia et al. (2003) and validated for 2~6 ages of preschoolers by Isquith et al. (2004). Finally, the children’s school life adjustment was measured by using ‘School Life Adjustment Scale’ developed by Jung Soo Kyung (2011) who referred to school life adjustment tests used in previous studies and suited 1st grade children based on expert advice.
The study’s findings are summarized as follows. First, this study examined the correlations between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy, the children's execution function and their school life adjustment. To begin with, when examining the relation between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children's execution function, there were positive correlations between the mother’s acceptance of their own emotions in the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s inhibition, emotional control and working memory in their executive function. Also, there were positive correlations between the emotion coaching of child’s emotions in the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s emotional control and planning-organization in their executive function. Next, when examining the relation between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s school life adjustment, there was a positive correlation between the mother’s acceptance of their own emotions in the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s adjustment to friends at school. Also, there was a positive correlation between the emotion coaching of child’s emotions in the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s adjustment to learning at school. Finally, when examining the relation between the children’s executive function and their school life adjustment, there were positive correlations between all sub-factors of the children’s inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory and planning-organization in their executive function and the children’s adjustment to friends, learning and rules at school.
Second, this study examined the effects between the three variables of the maternal meta-emotion philosophy, the children's execution function and their school life adjustment. To begin with, when examining the effect of the maternal meta-emotion philosophy on the children's execution function, the emotion coaching of child’s emotions in the maternal meta-emotion philosophy increased the level of the children’s emotional control in their executive function. In addition, this emotion coaching of child’s emotions also increased the level of the children’s planning-organization. Next, when examining the effect of the maternal meta-emotion philosophy on the children's school life adjustment, the maternal meta-emotion philosophy did not directly influence the children’s school life adjustment. Finally, when examining the effect of the children’s executive function on their school life adjustment, the children’s emotional control in their executive function positively influenced the level of the children’s adjustment to learning at school.
Third, this study examined whether the children’s executive function plays the mediating role in the relationship between the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s school life adjustment. As a result, the children’s emotional control in their executive function played a complete mediating role in the relationship between the emotion coaching of child’s emotions in the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and the children’s adjustment to learning at school. In other words, it shows that the mother’s high level of the emotion coaching can improve her child’s adjustment to learning by positively influencing his/her ability to control emotions. Also, the children’s planning-organization played a complete mediating role in the relationship between the emotion coaching of child’s emotions and the children’s adjustment to friends. In other words, it shows that the mother’s high level of the emotion coaching can improve her child’s adjustment to friends by positively influencing his/her ability to plan and organize.
Based on these findings, the implications of this study are follows. First, this study carries large significance in that it clearly revealed that the children’s executive function plays a complete mediating role in the path from the maternal meta-emotion philosophy to the children’s school life adjustment. This suggests that the children's execution function plays a key role more than any other factor in successfully adjusting to their school life, such as learning actively and forming intimate relationships at school, and that the maternal meta-emotion philosophy indirectly influences the children's school life adjustment.
Second, this study carries significance in that it is the only study to examine the maternal meta-emotion philosophy as a factor which can positively influence the children’s executive function highly related to early school-age children’s school life adjustment. Therefore, this study can be used as basis materials for constructing improving programs of the maternal meta-emotion philosophy and emotion coaching in preparing educational and counseling interventions to increase the level of the children’s executive function in the future.
Third, this study carries significance in that it presented results that can help improve school life problems and maladaptive behaviors of children in the post-Corona era by examining the school life adjustment of early school-age children most influenced by Corona 19.
Finally, this study used semi-structured interview to measure the higher cognitive concept of emotions of the maternal meta-emotion philosophy, so that we could collect rich qualitative data regarding the mother's own and their child’s emotional experiences, especially negative emotions. In addition, it carries significance in that this study secured objectivity and validity of evaluation by analyzing them through a repeatedly verified coding system.