Parental and non-parental attachment figures as predictors of emotional intelligence in children

[N. R. Lazović]

198 listova

Biografija autora: list 198 Bibliografija: str. 158-185

Psychology

The main aims of this research were to determine whether the level of emotional intelligence as a trait in children can be predicted based on the attachment to parental and non-parental figures (teachers and peers) (first and second aim), as well as to determine whether attachment to teachers and peers is a statistically significant mediator in the link between attachment to parents and children's emotional intelligence (third and fourth aim). Another aim was to examine whether the child’s gender, teacher’s gender, personality traits and mentalization capacity of teachers are moderators between attachment towards parental figures and attachment of the child for the teacher (fifth aim). One objective also aimed to examine whether the child gender is a moderator of the connection between attachment to parental figures and the attachment of the child to peers (sixth aim). The ultimate objective was to include potential moderators in the final model based on the results of the empirical validation of the assumed model and previous mediation and moderation analyzes (gender of the child and teacher, teacher personality and mentalization) and, if necessary, to revise and empirically verify alternative models of the connection between attachment to parents and emotional intelligence traits, as well as non-parental figures of attachment (teachers and peers). The sample included 354 students of the third and fourth grade of primary school (9 to 11 years old) as well as 38 teachers (AS=49.71; SD=7.06). The instruments used in the research were - for children: The Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised (ECR-RC; Brenning et al., 2011), The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment - the part related to the relationship with peers (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), Attachment to Teachers Scale (CAQ; Parish, 2000, adapted by Krstić, 2015) and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire - a version of the questionnaire designed for children (TEIQue-CF; Banjac et al., 2016). The teachers filled out the Big Five Plus Two questionnaire (VP+2: Smederevac et al., 2010), the Mentalization Capacity Assessment Scale (MentS; Dimitrijević et al., 2018), as well as a sociodemographic questionnaire compiled for research purposes. The main assumption that the relationship with parents will be mediated by attachment to non-parental figures (teachers and peers) was confirmed. The results showed that non-parental figures are important for the formation of emotional intelligence in children, and the hypothesis about the mediating role of the child’s gender, teacher’s gender, personality traits and mentalization capacity of the teacher was partially confirmed.

afektivna vezanost (dimenzije anksioznosti i izbegavanja), emocionalna inteligencija, roditelji, učitelji, vršnjaci, odnos s vršnjacima, srednje detinjstvo, predadolescencija

attachment (dimension of anxiety and avoidance), emotional intelligence, children, parents, teachers, peers, relationship with peers, middle childhood, preadolescence

159.922.7:159.942-055.52(043.3)

S260

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