Parent emotion coaching buffers the psychological effects of poor peer relations in the classroom

Abstract

Parent emotion coaching (i.e., child-reported parental responses to sadness and anger) was examined as a moderator of peer relations in the classroom (i.e., peer-rated sociability, number of mutual friends, and respect nominations) and self-perceptions of social competence (i.e., loneliness and optimism). Participants were 129 (44% boys; 66% Caucasian) fourth through sixth graders. If parents were perceived as low in emotion coaching, low sociability and low peer respect were associated with greater loneliness; low peer respect was also associated with low peer optimism when combined with low emotion coaching. Importantly, with high parent emotion coaching, there was no significant association between problematic peer relations and negative self-perceptions of social competence. Parent emotion coaching may buffer the effects of poor peer relations.