The relationship between emotional understanding and social skills in young children <Research papers>

This study investigated the relationships between emotional understanding and social skills in young children. Participants were 111 children (4-6 years old), 59 of whom were boys and 52 were girls. The investigator told a story and asked each child to answer with what kind of emotion (happy, sad, or angry) the protagonist would feel. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between children’s emotional understanding and social skills in the elder age group (ages 61-72 months), but no equivalent significant correlation in the younger age group (ages 48-60 months). These results suggest that the relationship between emotional understanding and social skills in children could be distinguished according to age group