Early childhood social-emotional development is crucial for young girls as it fosters self-awareness, emotional regulation, interpersonal skills, and resilience. Research has shown that strong social-emotional skills are linked to improved self-esteem, academic achievement, and long-term success in both public and private spheres. The UK’s Girlguiding organisation offers an inclusive space for girls to engage in girl-led activities, surrounded by supportive trusted adults. Despite evidence showing Girlguiding’s wealth of support for young girls’ wellbeing, it is currently unknown how much Girlguiding benefits younger girls’ social-emotional development, particularly with respect to protecting against emotional difficulties and fostering prosocial behaviour. This study links nationally representative data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study on girls aged 3-8 years, collected between 2019-2024, with the 2024 Girlguiding Impact and Experience survey, for parents of members aged 4-10 across the UK, to estimate the impact of being in Girlguiding on young children’s emotional difficulties and prosocial strengths. Probability linear models were estimated on two binarised Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire Sub-scales: pro-social and emotional symptoms.

Preliminary results show that young girls who participate in Girlguiding are 32.56% less likely to experience emotional difficulties and 4.65% more likely to exhibit pro-social behaviours. After controlling for area-level deprivation quintiles, the effect of being in Girlguiding rises to 46.51% less likely to experience emotional difficulties, but significant differences in pro-social behaviour disappear. These results suggest that, for girls aged 4-10, Girlguiding is protective of their social-emotional development and particularly protective against emotional difficulties. These findings underscore the critical role Girlguiding plays in fostering younger girls’ emotional well-being. They highlight the importance of supporting inclusive, girl-led programs that promote social-emotional development for younger girls.

Co-authors

Lisa Waddell; Fidelia Law, University of Bristol

Freyja Bills; Areenay Hatamian, Girlguiding