Systematic review: Intrinsic emotion regulation and aggression in preschoolers.

Abstract

Aggression in early childhood (preschoolers) is related to behavior problems at present and later in life. Emotion regulation (ER) is the process used to manage and change if, when, and how (e.g., how intensely) one experiences emotions and emotion-related motivational and physiological states. Although ER is included as a component in different child aggression intervention programs, there is no recent systematic review of the relationship between both variables. Therefore, this systematic review explores the relationship between intrinsic ER and aggressiveness in preschool children to establish and consolidate the theoretical bases for future specific interventions to prevent aggressive behavior through the training of ER. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. The results were classified according to the evaluation measure, the type of studies, gender, and socio-economic level. We found 33 effect sizes for the correlation between ER and aggression. Following Cohen's (1988) criteria for R correlations, 13 of these were small (-0.12 to -0.29), eight were moderate (-0.30 to -0.48), and 12 were high (-0.58 to -0.69). ER appears to be negatively related to aggressiveness in preschool children. Measurement method, gender, and age are essential factors in this relationship. We discuss possible future research lines, the study's limitations, and the implications of these outcomes at the preventive level.