Emotion regulation and academic perceptions in adolescence

ABSTRACT

Although studied extensively in the field of adolescent mental health, the role of emotion regulation (ER) in the academic functioning of adolescents is not well understood. This study examined the role of ER in adolescents’ perceptions of themselves and their learning environments. We compared adolescents with high and low levels of ER on perceptions of school achievement and attitudes towards school and their perception of their parents’ academic involvement. Students completed surveys about perceptions of their learning and parental involvement, as well as their ER abilities. Results indicated that students with higher emotion dysregulation endorsed more negative self-perceptions of their own academic abilities, had more negative attitudes towards school, and rated their mothers and fathers as more controlling in relation to their learning. These results demonstrate the importance of ER in the academic context, particularly in the home learning environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotion regulation
• emotion dysregulation
• adolescence
• perceptions of learning
• self-perceptions
• parental involvement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council with a standard research grant.

Notes on contributors

Rylee Oram

Rylee Oram is a PhD student in Experimental Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She is currently working on projects in the ADHD and Development Lab. Her thesis work will focus on the university experience of undergraduate students with ADHD and whether their basic psychological needs are being met.

Julia Ryan

Julia Ryan is a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa. Julia holds a Bachelor of Science in Honors Psychology from McGill University. Her research interests include ADHD, social functioning, cognition and social cognition, event perception, and emotion regulation.

Maria Rogers

Dr. Rogers is an Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa and the Director of the ADHD and Development research team.

Nancy Heath

Dr. Heath is a James McGill Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University and Director of the Development and Intrapersonal Resilience (DAIR) research team.