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<p>This study adopted a longitudinal design, with three follow-up assessments, each spaced six months apart. Participants were 71 junior preschoolers from a kindergarten in China who completed all three assessments. Results revealed that preschoolers aged 4 to 5 showed improved emotional competence (EC) with age. Specifically, emotion recognition (ERN) and regulation (ERL) significantly improved at each measurement time point. In contrast, emotion comprehension (ECH) showed a significant improvement only between ages 4.5 and 5. Emotion expression (EEP), however, exhibited a significant improvement over a longer time span, specifically between ages 4 and 5. Regarding gender differences, no significant differences were found in emotion recognition or expression. However, girls scored significantly higher than boys in emotion comprehension. In contrast, boys demonstrated significantly better emotion regulation than girls, with this gender difference being particularly pronounced at age 4 but disappearing by age 5. This study addresses a key limitation of prior cross-sectional research by offering longitudinal empirical evidence on the development of emotional competence in preschoolers.</p>

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A longitudinal study of emotional competence development of preschool children aged 4-5: developmental change and gender differences

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月17日

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  • Chunyu Li,
  • Li Junliang,
  • Deng Xu,
  • Li Quan

摘要

This study adopted a longitudinal design, with three follow-up assessments, each spaced six months apart. Participants were 71 junior preschoolers from a kindergarten in China who completed all three assessments. Results revealed that preschoolers aged 4 to 5 showed improved emotional competence (EC) with age. Specifically, emotion recognition (ERN) and regulation (ERL) significantly improved at each measurement time point. In contrast, emotion comprehension (ECH) showed a significant improvement only between ages 4.5 and 5. Emotion expression (EEP), however, exhibited a significant improvement over a longer time span, specifically between ages 4 and 5. Regarding gender differences, no significant differences were found in emotion recognition or expression. However, girls scored significantly higher than boys in emotion comprehension. In contrast, boys demonstrated significantly better emotion regulation than girls, with this gender difference being particularly pronounced at age 4 but disappearing by age 5. This study addresses a key limitation of prior cross-sectional research by offering longitudinal empirical evidence on the development of emotional competence in preschoolers.