Peer-reviewed article
Associations Between Emotion Regulation, Callous-Unemotional Traits, and Bullying in Middle Childhood.
Wilke J, Rademacher A, von Düring U, Cauffman E, Zumbach-Basu J ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how emotion regulation skills and emotional traits relate to callous-unemotional characteristics and bullying behavior in children aged around 8 years in Germany. Researchers followed 189 elementary school children over 6 months, measuring emotion regulation, emotional stability, and bullying at two time points. The study found that children with weaker emotion regulation skills and higher emotional instability were more likely to develop callous-unemotional traits and engage in bullying. The research suggests that early interventions teaching children to manage their emotions better could help prevent bullying.
Key points
- Emotion regulation skills and emotional lability/negativity at baseline were prospectively associated with higher callous-unemotional traits 6 months later
- Callous-unemotional traits were linked to increased bullying perpetration
- Callous-unemotional traits statistically mediated the relationship between lower emotion regulation skills and bullying perpetration
- Emotional lability/negativity was associated with both perpetration and victimization of bullying
- The authors recommend early interventions focusing on emotion regulation to address bullying patterns in middle childhood
Limitations
The study is observational and correlational; it cannot establish causation. The sample is limited to elementary school children in Germany, which may not generalize to other ages, settings, or cultural contexts.
Abstract
Bullying involves repeated aggression with an imbalance of power, significantly impacting children's psychosocial development. While callous-unemotional (CU) traits are linked to bullying behaviors, the role of emotion regulation in relation to both is less understood. This study examines prospective associations between emotion regulation skills and emotional lability/negativity (T1), CU traits (T2), and bullying behaviors (T2) in middle childhood. Data were drawn from a longitudinal questionnaire study involving 189 elementary school children (Mage = 8.48 years) in Germany, with measures taken at timepoint 1 and 6 months later at timepoint 2. A path model was used to examine direct and indirect associations. Emotion regulation skills and emotional lability/negativity were associated with higher CU traits, which were linked to increased bullying perpetration. Emotional lability/negativity was associated with both perpetration and victimization. Indirect effect analyses suggested that CU traits statistically linked lower emotion regulation skills, but not emotional lability/negativity, with bullying perpetration. Emotion regulation skills and emotional lability/negativity were prospectively associated with CU traits and bullying perpetration. These findings highlight the importance of early interventions focusing on emotion regulation to address patterns associated with bullying and CU traits in middle childhood.