Gerenciamento emocional em crianças que vivenciam e não vivenciam situação de vulnerabilidade social

Abstract

Emotional management, developed since our childhood, is an important factor in our lives and relationships. However, risk factors experienced by children in social vulnerability tend to impact this ability. In this regard, this research aimed to verify and compare the emotional management ability in children who experience and do not experience social vulnerability, through a psychological test with the inclusion of an interview (qualitative questions) for each item of the instrument. Twenty children participated in the study (10 from the group with social vulnerability and 10 without social vulnerability). The instruments used were the Children's Emotional Management Test - TGEC (adapted for this research with fewer items and with questions inserted at the end of each item) and the Brazil Economic Classification Criteria - CCEB to identify the social class of each participant. Although the quantitative results did not show a statistically significant difference, the qualitative analysis provided relevant data about differences between the groups in emotional management ability. Children in social vulnerability demonstrated a more limited vocabulary in naming emotions and feelings and had greater difficulty understanding the problem situations in the stories. The non-vulnerable group showed more skill in interpreting the problem situations presented, greater development and elaboration of their responses, and provided solutions that tend to be more adaptive to the problems presented. Therefore, the investigation provided data supporting the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the social context and children's emotional management ability.