Peer-reviewed article
Wellbeing and mental health in Chilean public-school students: emotion regulation and character strengths.
Ortiz-Correa P, Escobar MJ, Panesso Giraldo C, Salinas V, Rivera R ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how emotion regulation and character strengths relate to wellbeing in 3,569 Chilean school children and adolescents aged 8-18 years. The research measured wellbeing using the EPOCH scale alongside emotion regulation tools and character strength inventories. Results showed that adaptive emotion regulation strategies predicted higher happiness and optimism in younger students, while emotional difficulties predicted lower wellbeing in older students. Character strengths like love of learning, hope, and self-regulation consistently predicted better wellbeing outcomes.
Key points
- Adaptive emotion regulation strategies predicted higher happiness, optimism, and perseverance among younger students
- Emotional difficulties predicted lower wellbeing among older students
- Adding character strengths to the model significantly increased explained variance for perseverance and optimism
- Six character strengths consistently predicted wellbeing: love of learning, hope, self-regulation, enthusiasm, love, and teamwork
- The study supports integrating emotion regulation and strengths-based education in Latin American school settings
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and cannot establish causation between emotion regulation, character strengths, and wellbeing. The sample is limited to public school students in one district of Santiago, which may not represent all Chilean children or other Latin American contexts.
Abstract
Introduction This study examined the associations between emotion regulation, character strengths, and wellbeing among Chilean students attending public schools in Peñalolén, Santiago. Methods Participants were 3,569 children and adolescents aged 8-18 years who completed the EPOCH Well-being Scale, selected item-level indicators of the CERQ-K (younger students) or DERS-E (older students), and 15 items from the VIA Character Strengths Inventory. Five hierarchical regression models were estimated for each EPOCH domain, separately by age group. Results Adaptive emotion regulation strategies predicted higher happiness, optimism, and perseverance among younger students, whereas emotional difficulties predicted lower wellbeing among older students. Adding character strengths significantly increased explained variance, particularly for perseverance and optimism. Love of learning, hope, self-regulation, enthusiasm, love, and teamwork consistently predicted wellbeing. Discussion Findings support the integration of emotion regulation and strengths-based education to promote student wellbeing in Latin American school settings.