Bad Days Don't End When the School Bell Rings: The Lingering Effects of Negative School Events on Children's Mood, Self-esteem, and Perceptions of Parent-Child Interaction

Authors: Lehman, Barbara J.; Repetti, Rena L.

Source: Social Development, Volume 16, Number 3, August 2007 , pp. 596-618(23)

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Abstract:

Each day for five days, 79 fifth-grade children reported on events that occurred at school and they and their parents described their interactions with each other each evening. Consistent with previous research, it was found that on days when children reported more academic or peer problems during the day at school, they later described more aversive interactions with their parents. As hypothesized, increases in anxiety and drops in children's state self-esteem partially mediated this link. However, parents did not report any differences in their interactions with the target child on days when the child experienced problems at school. This study suggests that negative events experienced by children while at school lead to short-term changes in mood and self-esteem, which influence their perceptions of subsequent interactions at home with parents.

Keywords: parent-child relations; emotional states; peers; school adjustment; self-esteem

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00398.x

Affiliations: 1: University of California, Los Angeles

Publication date: 2007-08-01