Emotion regulation and moral and social rule awareness in early childhood: an exploratory correlational study

Early childhood represents a critical developmental period during which children begin to internalize social norms, understand moral principles, and acquire emotion regulation skills that guide adaptive behavior. This exploratory correlational study examined the associations between preschoolers’ emotion regulation skills and their perceptions of moral and social rules. The participants were 45 children (21 girls, 24 boys; M = 67.47 months) attending two public preschools. Data were collected using the Moral and Social Rule Perception Scale and the Emotion Regulation Scale. Results indicated that children displayed high levels of moral and social rule conception and moderate levels of emotion regulation. Pearson correlation analyses revealed significant positive associations between emotion regulation skills-particularly the use of emotion regulation strategies-and both moral and social rule conceptions. The strongest correlation was observed between emotion regulation strategies and total moral and social rule conception ( r = 0.78, p < 0.001), suggesting that strategic emotional competence is closely linked to children’s normative awareness. These exploratory findings indicate that emotional competence-particularly strategy use-may be meaningfully associated with children’s moral and social rule conception during early childhood. However, given the small sample size ( N = 45), the cross-sectional design, and the exploratory nature of the analyses, causal or predictive claims cannot be made. Limitations include the context-specific sample and reliance on a single assessment occasion. The study provides preliminary, hypothesis-generating insights for educators, counselors, and child service practitioners, emphasizing the potential importance of integrating socio-emotional learning components into early education and child development programs to support adaptive moral and social functioning.