2022 Volume 29 Issue 1 Pages 1-8
Social-emotional competence is a critical factor that has been assumed to promote positive development. Many programs such as social and emotional learning (SEL) have been implemented in elementary schools with the intention of fostering social-emotional competence. This study examined the relationship between social-emotional competence and self-esteem in late childhood and the role of peer relationships in mediating these relationships. Fifth- and sixth-grade Japanese elementary school students completed a questionnaire. Covariance structure analysis revealed that higher social-emotional competence in late childhood was related to higher self-esteem, and this relationship was mediated by peer relationships. These results implied that high social-emotional competence and well-developed peer relationships were important in order to consolidate self-esteem in elementary students.
