Abstract

On the background of emotional competence construct, we investigated the relation between emotion regulation, emotional self-efficacy and empathy in a sample of 252 gender- balanced preadolescents (mean age = 12 yrs. and half; sd = 4.01 months). Participants filled in three validated questionnaires (HIF, AEP and HIFds) regarding their emotional competence. Data analysis shows a mediating role of emotional self-efficacy in the relationship between empathy (both affective and cognitive) and emotion regulation independently by gender. Results are discussed underlining their practical implications in preadolescence.