Multisensory Learning of Socio-Emotional Skills: Linking Emotion Confusion to Behavioral Outcomes in Schools

Multisensory Learning of Socio-Emotional Skills: Linking Emotion Confusion to Behavioral Outcomes in Schools | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Multisensory Learning of Socio-Emotional Skills: Linking Emotion Confusion to Behavioral Outcomes in Schools Alessandro Santis, Giusi Antonia Toto, Guendalina Peconio, Annamaria Petito, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7133079/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Emotion recognition ability (ERA) is a core component of social cognition and behavioral regulation. While previous studies focused on individuals with neuroanatomical impairments, less is known about multisensory emotion mis-perception in typically developing children with behavioral difficulties. This study investigated the relationship between multisensory emotional confusion and behavioral problems in early childhood, using a revised DANVA-2-RV and the SDQ-Teacher Version. Forty children (mean age = 6.1 years; 21 males) completed the DANVA-2-RV to assess emotion recognition. Teachers completed the SDQ to evaluate behavioral functioning. An emotional confusion index was computed from DANVA-2-RV response patterns. Pearson correlations, PCA, and ANOVA/MANOVA were conducted. Total emotional confusion was significantly correlated with all SDQ problem scales. Peer problems showed the strongest correlation (r = 0.81, p < 0.01), followed by emotional problems (r = 0.52), conduct problems (r = 0.50), and hyperactivity (r = 0.45). Paralanguage confusion was correlated with SDQ total Difficulties (r = 0.56) and Emotional Problems (r = 0.65). Prosocial behavior was negatively associated with Total confusion score (r =-0.55). PCA showed that confusion for anger and happiness accounted for most variance. ANOVA revealed significantly higher confusion scores among 1 children within the clinical SDQ range (F = 4.65, p = 0.0374). MANOVA further confirmed a clear group separation (Wilks’ Λ = 0.446). Overall, mul-tisensory emotional confusion appears to be a robust correlate of behavioral maladjustment in early childhood. These findings support the inclusion of confusion metrics in emotion recognition assessments and underscore the importance of early interventions to strengthen socio-emotional competencies. Multisensory emotion recognition behavior problems early childhood SDQ DANVA-2-RV PCA MANOVA Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Appendix.zip Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 25 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 21 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 21 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 15 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7133079","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":488764756,"identity":"40be5693-01bb-47f2-a9a2-114cf92751fe","order_by":0,"name":"Alessandro 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While previous studies focused on individuals with neuroanatomical impairments, less is known about multisensory emotion mis-perception in typically developing children with behavioral difficulties. This study investigated the relationship between multisensory emotional confusion and behavioral problems in early childhood, using a revised DANVA-2-RV and the SDQ-Teacher Version. Forty children (mean age = 6.1 years; 21 males) completed the DANVA-2-RV to assess emotion recognition. Teachers completed the SDQ to evaluate behavioral functioning. An emotional confusion index was computed from DANVA-2-RV response patterns. Pearson correlations, PCA, and ANOVA/MANOVA were conducted. Total emotional confusion was significantly correlated with all SDQ problem scales. Peer problems showed the strongest correlation (r = 0.81, p \u003c 0.01), followed by emotional problems (r = 0.52), conduct problems (r = 0.50), and hyperactivity (r = 0.45). Paralanguage confusion was correlated with SDQ total Difficulties (r = 0.56) and Emotional Problems (r = 0.65). Prosocial behavior was negatively associated with Total confusion score (r =-0.55). PCA showed that confusion for anger and happiness accounted for most variance. ANOVA revealed significantly higher confusion scores among 1 children within the clinical SDQ range (F = 4.65, p = 0.0374). MANOVA further confirmed a clear group separation (Wilks’ Λ = 0.446). Overall, mul-tisensory emotional confusion appears to be a robust correlate of behavioral maladjustment in early childhood. 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