A longitudinal examination of school-related and mental health mediators linking emotion regulation to academic achievement

Abstract

Emotion regulation is assumed to underlie academic achievement through different mechanisms (e.g., a positive orientation toward school and schoolwork, better mental health). However, few studies have contrasted these mediating mechanisms within a longitudinal analytic framework, which is necessary to determine which mechanism(s) are most likely to translate emotion regulation into academic success over time. The present study addressed this gap by examining whether children's emotion regulation capacities were associated with later academic achievement through school-related (i.e., school bonding and academic motivation) and mental health mediators (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms). Participants included 300 4- and 8-year-old children (n = 150 in each age cohort; 50% female) and their caregivers from Canada. Measures were collected over 4 years. Path analyses indicated that higher emotion regulation (T1; age 4/8 years) was associated with better academic achievement 3 years later (T4; age 7/11 years) through stronger school bonding and lower internalizing symptoms in the interim (T2; age 5/9 years; the indirect effect through internalizing symptoms held after controlling for initial levels of internalizing symptoms). Significant effects were derived from both caregiver and child informants when applicable and indirect effects held across age cohorts and genders. Findings highlight the interplay of social-emotional, academic, and mental health development across childhood, as well as the potential benefits of extending academic interventions to the social-emotional and mental health domains.