Peer Nominations of Emotional Expressivity among Urban Children: Social and Psychological Correlates.

The current study examined associations between peer nominations of children's expression of negative emotions and psychological, social, and behavioral correlates in a sample of 523 first graders. Children (85% African American) completed a peer nomination measure for expressing negative emotions. In addition, three other domains of functioning were assessed using multiple raters: internalizing symptoms (self, parent), externalizing behavior (parent, teacher), and social competence (parent, teacher). Regression analyses indicated that peer nominations of negative emotions predicted higher levels of teacher-rated externalizing behavior and lower levels of teacher-rated social competence. Peer nominations of emotions were significantly associated with teacher ratings but unrelated to self- and parent-report measures. Adding to a small but growing literature, our findings underscore the importance of assessing peer perceptions of children's emotional expressivity and their associations to social and psychological functioning in an urban, predominantly African American sample.