Following leads from differential emotions theory and empirical research, we evaluated an index of emotion knowledge as a long-term predictor of positive and negative social behavior and academic competence in a sample of children from economically disadvantaged families (N = 72). The index of emotion knowledge represents the child's ability to recognize and label emotion expressions. We administered control and predictor measures when the children were 5 years old and obtained criterion data at age 9. After controlling for verbal ability and temperament, our index of emotion knowledge predicted aggregate indices of positive and negative social behavior and academic competence. Path analysis showed that emotion knowledge mediated the effect of verbal ability on academic competence. We argue that the ability to detect and label emotion cues facilitates positive social interactions and that a deficit in this ability contributes to behavioral and learning problems. Our findings have implications for primary prevention.

The present meta-analytic review examined the magnitude of the relation between discrete emotion knowledge and three of its most commonly studied correlates in childhood and adolescence: social competence, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Emotion knowledge demonstrated small to medium-sized relations with each correlate. Moderators of effect size were also examined and included multiple sample and methodological characteristics. Using random effects models, significant moderators of effect size for relations between emotion knowledge and externalizing problems included sample recruitment, sample age, and the source of externalizing problems ratings. Moderators of effect size were not found for emotion knowledge and social competence, and the effect sizes across samples for emotion knowledge and internalizing problems were homogeneous. Results highlight the relatively consistent yet modest relations between emotion knowledge and its correlates. Implications for applied research and new directions for research on emotion knowledge using innovative methods are discussed.

Integrating principles of differential emotions theory and social information-processing theory, this study examined a model of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral predictors of peer acceptance in a sample of 201 early elementary school-age children (mean age = 7 years, 5 months). A path analytic model showed that social skills mediated the effect of emotion knowledge on both same- and opposite-sex social preference, but social skills and verbal ability were more strongly related to opposite-sex peer acceptance. These findings suggest that adaptive social skills constitute a mechanism through which children express their emotion knowledge and achieve peer acceptance. Results also supported findings of previous studies that showed that emotion knowledge mediated the effect of verbal ability on social skills. Findings from the present study have specific implications for emotion-centered prevention programs that aim to improve children's socioemotional competence and enhance the likelihood of peer acceptance.

In this study, we assessed the presence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) among children with a confirmed 22q11.2 deletion (n = 98). The children's caregivers completed screening measures of ASD behaviors, and for those whose scores indicated significant levels of these behaviors, a standardized diagnostic interview (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised; ADI-R) was administered. Results demonstrated that over 20% of children (n = 22) were exhibiting significant levels of autism spectrum symptoms based on the screening measures. Based upon the ADI-R, 14 children qualified for a diagnosis of an ASD, and for 11 of those children a diagnosis of autism was most appropriate. These findings increase our knowledge of developmental disorders associated with the 22q11.2 deletion and point to avenues for future investigation.

In this longitudinal study, we examined the relations between emotion knowledge in first grade, teacher reports of internalizing and externalizing behaviors from first grade, and children's self-reported internalizing behaviors in fifth grade. At Time 1, we assessed emotion knowledge, expressive vocabulary, caregiver-reported earned income, and teacher-rated internalizing and externalizing behaviors in 7-year-old children from economically disadvantaged families (N = 154). At Time 2, when the children were age 11, we collected children's self-reports of negative emotions, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. First grade teacher-reported externalizing behaviors, but not first grade internalizing behaviors, were positively related to children's self-reports of internalizing behaviors in fifth grade. First grade emotion knowledge accounted for a significant amount of variance in children's self-reports of internalizing symptoms 4 years later, after controlling for per capita earned income, expressive vocabulary, and teacher-reported internalizing and externalizing behaviors in first grade.