The bidirectional relationship between emotion regulation and social communication in childhood: A systematic review

Emotion regulation (ER) refers to the ability to regulate emotional reactions in response to stimuli. Social communication involves the knowledge and skills to engage in social interactions. Both processes develop in the first years of life and form the foundation for later functioning. Literature suggests a bidirectional relationship between ER and social communication; however, the majority of research examines these constructs independently. This review provides an in-depth examination of research that has measured the relations between ER and social communication in children from 2 years of age and onwards. Findings revealed an age-related pattern, where ER was related to later social communication and vice versa. However, there was no consensus regarding direct relationship(s) between ER and social communication due to heterogeneity among studies when defining and measuring these constructs. This review illustrates the importance of understanding the pathways between ER and social communication and may inform future studies, both in typical and atypical development.