Challenges of Emotion Regulation and Its Outcomes in Interpersonal Relationships of Children with Learning Disabilities: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Women Research Center, Alzahra University,Tehran, Iran

2 MA, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Objective: The current study investigates the challenges of emotion regulation and its consequences on the interpersonal relationships of children with learning disabilities in Tehran.
Methods: The research approach was qualitative and the research method was content analysis. The participants were all female elementary students with learning disabilities and their teachers living in Tehran in the academic year of 2023-24, that 15 students between 9-11 years old and their teachers with Mage of 42.6 years through purposeful sampling were invited to participate in the study.
Results: The results showed seven categories and 16 subcategories including confrontational and corrosive communication style, devaluing communication style, pseudo-relationship without depth, dual being control and controllability, emotional immaturity, inappropriate emotional responses, and strategies based on inhibition and suppression.
Conclusion: In general, emotion regulation challenges in students with learning disabilities can lead to a decrease in positive relationships, isolation and tension, reduced self-confidence, and reduced social interactions. Therefore, creating a supportive environment and strengthening their emotion regulation skills can improve their social relations and help them cope with these challenges better.

Keywords

Main Subjects


حسینی، ل. و داوری، ر. (1400). بررسی نقش سبک‌های فرزندپروری در پیش‌بینی ناگویی هیجانی و راهبردهای تنظیم هیجانی در دانش‌آموزان مقطع متوسطه شهر تهران. روان شناسی مدرسه و آموزشگاه. 10(1)، 46-57. doi: 10.22098/jsp.2021.1140
رضایی‌شریف، س.، قربان پورلفمجانی، ا. و سفیدکار، ش. (1399). مقایسه مشکلات هیجانی- رفتاری و پرخاشگری در دانش‌آموزان با و بدون اختلال یادگیری خاص. سلامت روان کودک، 2 (23)،  ۱۶۹-۱۸۲. http://childmentalhealth.ir/article-1-758-fa.html
صدری‌دمیرچی، ا. و اسماعیلی قاضی‌ولوئی، ف. (1395). اثربخشی آموزش مهارت‌های اجتماعی- هیجانی بر تنظیم شناختی هیجان و مهارت‌های اجتماعی کودکان دارای اختلال یادگیری خاص. ناتوانی‌های یادگیری، 5(4)، 59-86. https://jld.uma.ac.ir/article_433.html?lang=fa
علی‌پور، ف.، نجاتی، و.، دهرویه، ش.،  مرادعلیان،  ف. و بداقی، ا.  (1399). تنظیم شناختی هیجان و مشکلات رفتاری در کودکان ۷ تا ۱۲ سال با نارسایی ویژه در یادگیری ریاضی، خواندن و نوشتن. کودکان استثنایی، ۲۰ (۱) :۹۸-.۸۷. https://joec.ir/article-1-1113-fa.html
محمودی، م.، برجعلی، ا.، علی‌زاده، ح.، غباری بناب، ب.، اختیاری، ح. و اکبری‌زردخانه، س. (1395). تنظیم هیجان در کودکان با اختلال یادگیری و کودکان عادی. پژوهش در یادگیری آموزشگاهی و مجازی، 4(13)، 69-84. DOR:20.1001.1.23456523.1395.4.13.6.2
نیک‌اندام کرمانشاهی، حسین و صفائی‌راد، ایرج و عرفانی، نصراله و یاراحمدی، یحیی،. (1400). نقش کمال گرایی منفی، دشواری تنظیم هیجانی و خودناتوان سازی در پیش بینی دلزدگی تحصیلی دانش آموزان پسرمتوسطه دوره دوم. روانشناسی مدرسه و آموزشگاه، 10(2): 180-155. doi: 10.22098/jsp.2021.1184.
References
Aldao, A., & Tull, M.T. (2015). Putting emotion regulation in context. Current Opinion in Psychology. 3, 100-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.03.022
Aldao, A., Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies: Interactive effects during CBT for social anxiety disorder. Journal of anxiety disorders, 28(4), 382-389.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.03.005.
Alipour, F., Nejati, V., Dehrouye, S., Muradalian, F. and Badaghi, A. (2020). Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Behavioral Problems in 7-12 Years Old Children with Specific Learning (Disorders Reading, Writing and Mathematics Deficits). Journal of Exceptional Children, 20 (1), 87-98. ] https://joec.ir/article-1-1113-en.html.
Al-Mamari, W. S., Emam, M. M., Al-Futaisi, A. M., & Kazem, A. M. (2015). Comorbidity of learning disorders and attention    deficit hyperactivity disorder in a sample of Omani schoolchildren. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 15(4),              e528.‏ https://doi.org/10.18295/squmj.2015.15.04.015
Baker, S. R. (2004). Intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivational orientations: Their role in university adjustment, stress, well-being, and subsequent academic performance. Current Psychology23, 189-202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-004-1019-9.
Bowie, B. H. (2010). Understanding gender differences in pathways to social deviancy: Relational aggression and emotion regulation. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 24, (1), 27-37. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.apnu.2009.04.007
Cortiella, C. & Horowitz, S.H. (2014). The state of learning disabilities: Facts, trends and emerging issues. New York, USA: National Center for Learning Disabilities.
De Neve, D., Bronstein, M. V., Leroy, A., Truyts, A., & Everaert, J. (2022). Emotion regulation in the classroom: A network approach to model relations among emotion regulation difficulties, engagement to learn, and relationships with peers and teachers. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1-14.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01678-2.
Dixon-Gordon, K. L., Bernecker, S. L., & Christensen, K. (2015). Recent innovations in the field of interpersonal emotion      regulation. Current Opinion in Psychology, 3, 36–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.02.001
Dixon-Gordon, K., Aldao, A., & De, L. R. (2015). Emotion regulation in context: Examining the spontaneous use of strategies        across emotional intensity and type of emotion. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 271-276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.011.
Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R. A., Guthrie, I. K., & Reiser, M. (2000). Dispositional emotionality and regulation: Their role in predicting quality of social functioning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 136-157. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.1.136.
Fine, J. G., Semrud-Clikeman, M., Bledsoe, J. C., & Musielak, K. A. (2013). A critical review of the literature on NLD as a      developmental disorder. Child Neuropsychology, 19(2), 190-223.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2011.648923.
Forkosh Baruch, A., & Meer, Y. (2019). Academic support model for post-secondary school students with learning disabilities: student and instructor perceptions AU- Lipka, Orly. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(2), 142-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1427151.
Freilich, R., & Shechtman, Z. (2010). The contribution of art therapy to the social, emotional, and academic adjustment of children with learning disabilities. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 37(2), 97–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2010.02.003.
Gotlib, I. H., & Joormann, J. (2010). Cognition and depression: current status and future directions. Annual review of clinical psychology6, 285-312.‏ https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131305.
Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 26, 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBA.0000007455.08539.94.
Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological inquiry, 26(1), 1-26.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2014.940781.
Gross, J. J., & Barrett, L. F. (2011). Emotion Generation and Emotion Regulation: One or Two Depends on Your Point of View. Emotion Review, 3(1), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073910380974.
Gross, J., J. (2014). Emotion regulation: Conceptual and empirical foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (2nd ed., pp. 3-20). Newyork: The Guilford Press.
Gross, J.J. & Thompson, R.A. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. In J.J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation(pp. 3–24). New York, NY: Guilford.
Hulme, C., Goetz, K., Gooch, D., Adams, J., & Snowling, M. J. (2007). Paired-associate learning, phoneme awareness, and learning to read. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 96, 150-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2006.09.002.
Jacobs, S. E., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Emotion regulation in education. International handbook of emotions in education, 183-217.‏
Kashdan, T. B., & Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical psychology review30(7), 865-878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.001.‏
Kopelman-Rubin, D., Siegel, A., Weiss, N., & Kats-Gold, I. (2021). The Relationship between Emotion Regulation, School Belonging, and Psychosocial Difficulties among Adolescents with Specific Learning Disorder. Children & Schools,     42(4), 216-224. https://doi.org/ 10.1093/cs/cdaa022.‏
Lingiardi, V., & McWilliams, N. (Eds.). (2017). Psychodynamic diagnostic manual: PDM-2. Guilford Publications.
Liverant, G. I., Brown, T. A., Barlow, D. H., & Roemer, L. (2008). Emotion regulation in unipolar depression: The effects of acceptance and suppression of subjective emotional experience on the intensity and duration of sadness and negative affect. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(11), 1201–1209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.08.001.
Loevaas, M. E. S., Sund, A. M., Lydersen, S., Neumer, S. P., Martinsen, K., Holen, S., ... & Reinfjell, T. (2019). Does the transdiagnostic EMOTION intervention improve emotion regulation skills in children?. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 805-813.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-01324-1.
Maag, J. W. & Reid, R. (2006). Depression among students with learning disabilities: Assessing the risk. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(1), 3-10 https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194060390010201.
Mafra, H. (2015). Development of Learning and Social Skills in Children with Learning Disabilities: An Educational   Intervention Program. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 209, 221–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.220.
Mahmoudi, M., Borjali, A., Alizadeh, H., Ghobari-Bonab, B., Ekhtiari, H., & Akbari-Zardkhaneh, S. (1970). Emotion Regulation in Children with Learning Disorders and Normal Children. Research in School and Virtual Learning4(13), 69-84. [Persian] https://etl.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_2999.html?lang=en
Mammarella, I. C., Ghisi, M., Bomba, M., Bottesi, G., Caviola, S., Broggi, F., & Nacinovich, R. (2016). Anxiety and depression in              children with nonverbal learning disabilities, reading disabilities, or typical development. Journal of learning disabilities,      49(2), 130-139.‏ https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219414529336.
McSweeney, L., B Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Reich, D. B., Silk, K. R., Hudson, J. I. (2009). The subsyndromal phenomenology of borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry164(6), 929-935. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15081045.
Metsala, J. L., Galway, T. M., Ishaik, G., & Barton, V. E. (2017). Emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and psychosocial adjustment in children with nonverbal learning disabilities. Child neuropsychology23(5), 609-629. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2016.1205012.
Olivares, J., Sánchez-García, R., López-Pina. J. A. (2009). The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents. Psicothema.21(3), 486-91. PMID: 19622334.
Rezaei S, Sefidkar S, Qorbanpoor Lafmejani A. (2020). The Comparison of Emotional-Behavioral Problems and Aggression in Students with/without Specific Learning Disability. Journal of Child Mental Health, 7 (2) :169-182 [Persian] http://childmentalhealth.ir/article-1-758-fa.html
Sadri Damirchi, A., & Esmaili Ghazivaloii, F. (2016). Effectiveness of social- emotional skills training on cognitive emotion regulation and social skills in children with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities5(4), 59-86. [Persian] https://jld.uma.ac.ir/article_433.html?lang=en
Schmitt, M. (2018). Emotion Regulation Repertoire: Which Strategies Drive Mental Health?. Arizona State University.‏ https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/158457077.pdf.
Thompson, R.A. (1994). Emotion regulation: a theme in search of definition. In N. Fox (Ed.), The development of emotion regulation: biological and behavioral consideration. Monographs of the society for Research in Child Development, 59(2-3)240. PMID: 7984164..
Webb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (2012). Dealing with feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 138(4), 775–808. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027600.
Wentzel, K. R., & Miele, D. B. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of motivation at school. Routledge.
Willcutt, E. G., Pennington, B. F. (2000). Psychiatric comorbidity in children and adolescents with reading disability. Journal of Child Psychol Psychiatry. 41(8):1039-48. PMID: 11099120.
Zaki, J., & Williams, W. (2013). Interpersonal emotion regulation. Emotion, 13(5), 803–81