"Drawing on the latest research and an abundance of case material, Carolyn Saarni vividly explores the range of skills that lead to emotional competence awareness of self and others, sensitivity to masked as well as expressed emotion, the ability to put feelings into words, and strategies for coping with adversity. She eloquently situates that competence in its wider social, cultural, and moral context. Anyone who wants to nurture or understand the development of emotional competence should read this book."

--Paul L. Harris, PhD, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, UK

"The Development of Emotional Competence advances our understanding of the rich tapestry of human emotion, and of the skills that emerge as we learn to live with its influence in daily life. It is a valuable resource for students (advanced undergraduate and graduate) as well as professionals in psychology, counseling, social work, and education. As a developmentalist, clinician, parent, and astute observer of human emotion, Carolyn Saarni has presented a complex and essential feature of human experience in a comprehensible and compelling manner."

--From the Foreword by Ross A. Thompson, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska

Guilford Press Web Site, June, 2000

What does it mean to be emotionally competent? What specific emotional capabilities are subsumed under this rubric, and how do they develop in the individual? This innovative book argues that emotional competence is demonstrated by self-efficacy in emotion-eliciting encounters, and identifies eight key emotional skills that support its acquisition in interpersonal contexts. With a focus on children between the ages of five and fourteen, each skill is addressed in a separate chapter, using cutting-edge theory and empirical data that are integrated with lively case examples and narratives. Saarni also emphasizes the cultural and gender context of emotional experience, and the significance of moral disposition and personal integrity for mature emotional competence is considered. Throughout, the links between emotional competence, socialization, and resilience in the face of stress are clearly and thoughtfully demonstrated. A concluding chapter on emotional dysfunction asks why and what happens when children fail to develop specific emotional skills.

Professionals and students concerned with the well-being of children and youth, from either an applied/clinical or research orientation.

Serves as a primary or supplemental text for advanced courses in child psychology, counseling, social work, and education.

Prologue: What Is Emotional Competence?

1. The Inseparability of Emotional and Social Development
2. The Role of the Self in Emotional Competence
3. How We Become Emotionally Competent
4. Skill 1: Awareness of One's Own Emotions
5. Skill 2: The Ability to Discern and Understand Others' Emotions
6. Skill 3: The Ability to Use the Vocabulary of Emotion and Expression
7. Skill 4: Capacity for Empathic Involvement
8. Skill 5: The Ability to Differentiate Internal Subjective Emotional Experience from External Emotional Expression
9. Skill 6: Capacity for Adaptive Coping with Aversive Emotions and Distressing Circumstances
10. Skill 7: Awareness of Emotional Communication within Relationships
11. Skill 8: Capacity for Emotional Self-Efficacy
12. Emotional Incompetence and Dysfunction