The experience of sadness in middle-childhood: coping strategies, attachment, temperamental traits, and interpersonal features

This dissertation investigates the experience of sadness in middle childhood, focusing on coping strategies, temperamental traits, attachment, and interpersonal features. Through four distinct studies, it examines sadness as both a functional and adaptive emotion, as well as its impact on psychological well-being and social development. The first study differentiates between state and dispositional sadness, analyzing their effects on psychopathological symptoms and prosocial behaviors. The second study explores how children manage sadness and the relationship between coping strategies and attachment security. The third study highlights the role of sadness in fostering prosocial behavior, while the fourth study evaluates teachers' responses to children's sadness. Findings underscore the importance of effectively regulating sadness at both individual and interpersonal levels, offering practical implications for educational and clinical interventions aimed at promoting emotional resilience and social competence in children.