The role of emotional competence in youth sharing during positive and negative interactions with unfamiliar peers

Sharing is a key aspect of social lives and varies across social interactions, yet the individual factors underlying children's sharing with unfamiliar peers remain poorly understood. This study examines the extent to which demographic variables, prior established relationships (as measured by sociometric status among classmates), and emotional competence (specifically emotion understanding, which includes emotional state, emotion recognition, and Callous-Unemotional traits) are associated with sharing behaviors across three distinct conditions representing social interactions with unfamiliar peers: inclusion, observing exclusion, and direct exclusion. A sample of 185 middle-class Italian children (55 % males) aged 8–13 years ( M = 10.11, SD = 1.3) completed three versions of a Cyberball task and a Dictator Game. Results showed that sharing differed across conditions, with significantly lower sharing following direct exclusion than inclusion or observing exclusion. Hierarchical linear regressions underlined as higher sociometric status explained greater sharing behaviors with unfamiliar peers, particularly after social exclusion, whereas no sex differences emerged. A more positive emotional state following the interaction explained higher sharing after both inclusion and direct exclusion. In contrast, better emotion recognition abilities and lower Callous-Unemotional traits specifically contributed after observing exclusion. Our findings indicate that children's sharing with unfamiliar peers is supported by distinct individual mechanisms depending on the interaction context, highlighting the importance of context-specific approaches to fostering prosocial behavior in middle childhood.