Citation

Horner CG, Wallace TL. J. Sch. Health 2013; 83(10): 697-703.

Affiliation

Researcher, Teaching Fellow, (christyg@pitt.edu), Psychology in Education Department, University of Pittsburgh, WWPH, 230 S. Bouquet St., Pittsburgh, PA 15260.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, American School Health Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/josh.12083

PMID

24020683

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Understanding how school personnel can best support students' development of communication skills around feelings is critical to long-term health outcomes. The measurement of emotion socialization in schools facilitates future research in this area; we review existing measures of emotion socialization to assess their applicability to school-based health studies. METHODS: A content analysis of four emotion socialization measures was conducted. Inclusion criteria included: high frequency of use in prior research, established documentation of validity and reliability, and sufficient description of measurement procedures. RESULTS: Four dimensions emerged as particularly salient to a measure's future relevance and applicability to school-based health studies: (1) methods of measurement; (2) mode and agent of socialization; (3) type of emotion; and (4) structure versus function of socializing behavior. CONCLUSION: Future measurement strategies should address (1) the structures of emotion socializing processes; (2) diverse socializing agents such as teachers, peers, and administrators; (3) the intended functions of such processes; (4) student perceptions of and responses to such processes; and (5) the complex interactions of these factors across contexts. Strategies attending to these components will permit future studies of school-based emotion socializing processes to determine how they enhance health and reduce health risks.

Language: en