Tina C. Montreuil
McGill University, Canada
Title: Emotion Regulation in Children and Youth as a factor of Academic Success: A Mental Health Perspective
Biography
Biography: Tina C. Montreuil
Abstract
The issue of child mental health is one that has long been ignored, unrecognized and insufficiently investigated. More than 1 in 5 children under the age of 17 has a mental health disorder, causing significant distress and impairing functioning at home, school, with peers or in the larger community. Mental health problems continue to grow in children and youth, and are predicted to increase by over 50% internationally by 2020, becoming one of the five most common causes of morbidity, mortality, and disability among children (WHO, 2013). Mental health challenges and more specifically, difficulties with emotion regulation have often been linked to social deficiencies in children, playing a large role in a student’s adjustment to their learning environment and overall success in school. Children who struggle with emotional regulation are less likely to maximize their academic potential. Research has consistently shown that when emotional regulation strategies are taught in the classroom, students are more likely to show improved behavior control, peer social skills, and a decrease in externalized behaviors. Research has demonstrated an irrefutable association between emotion regulation and academic success, especially in the first few years of school experience when the development and promotion of resiliency is optimal. This is especially alarming given that a very limited number of studies have looked at the impact of emotion self-regulation skills on school success, despite the fact that individual variables such as emotion dysregulation would clearly have adverse effects on social functioning. Some studies have looked at the impact of emotion dysregulation on social functioning but mainly in regards to psychopathology in adult populations, considerably past the critical ‘elementary school’ period where children would begin to experience academic difficulties. In light of such considerable research limitations, the proposed presentation will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the area of child socio-emotional development and academic success.