What did I do?
The goal of my research project was to answer two questions:
How are coping and emotional regulation strategies portrayed in children’s fictional literature?
To answer this question, I read some of the most popular books for kids in middle childhood (ages roughly 4-8). To find what the most popular books were, I looked through various best-seller lists, recommendations from librarians and teachers, and polls. I then narrowed my results based on age.
Here are the links to these resources:
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/31/905804301/welcome-to-story-hour-100-favorite-books-for-young-readers
​
https://time.com/100-best-childrens-books/
​
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/86.Best_Children_s_Books
​
https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/picture-books/
​
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb
​
https://www.rd.com/list/the-best-childrens-books-ever-written/
As I read, I analyzed how the characters coped with stressful experiences and regulated the emotions associated with these experiences.
​
To see how I categorized this information, click here.
Do these portrayals model healthy coping and emotional regulation?
To answer this question, I turned to research from developmental and clinical psychology. This gave me a lot of helpful information about which emotional regulation strategies are developmentally appropriate for different age groups, how the context of a stressor influences the coping response, and more.
To learn more about coping and emotional regulation, click here.
​
To view the findings regarding this question, click here.
Stressor: a condition or aspect of the environment that poses a threat to one's health (9)
An important note:
My goal is not to suggest that children should be learning something related to coping or emotions every time they read. It's just as important for kids to laugh, be silly, and have fun when they read!
​
Rather, the goal of this project is to show how these lessons about coping and emotions can be integrated into conversations about everyday books that children often read. Discussions about social-emotional topics do not have to be scary and uncomfortable. When these conversations take place in the context of familiar characters and engaging stories, social-emotional concepts can become a little more approachable and a little less overwhelming.