The Relationship between Emotion Regulation, School Belonging, and Psychosocial Difficulties among Adolescents with Specific Learning Disorder

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between emotion regulation and psychosocial difficulties among adolescents with a specific learning disorder (SLD) and examines the role of the sense of school belonging in this connection. Participants were 249 seventh- and eighth-grade students diagnosed with SLD (146 boys, 103 girls) from 11 urban public schools. The analysis indicated that the total effect of students’ emotion regulation on the degree of psychosocial difficulties was significant: the better the students’ ability to regulate emotions, the lower their degree of psychosocial difficulties. This association was significantly mediated by a student’s sense of school belonging. Furthermore, the better the student’s ability to regulate emotions, the higher their sense of school belonging, which was in turn linked with fewer psychosocial difficulties. The article concludes with a discussion of theoretical and applied implications of the findings.