El objetivo de la presente investigacion fue establecer las diferencias o semejanzas en el concepto de tristeza, los factores asociados que la producen y las estrategias de autorregulacion de esta emocion en ninos y ninas de 10 anos. Se utilizo una metodologia cualitativa a partir de una entrevista estructurada y de entrevistas de grupo focal, para lo cual se procedio con una muestra de 40 ninos y ninas de instituciones educativas publicas y privadas seleccionados mediante muestreo intencional. No se identificaron diferencias en el concepto de tristeza en ninos y ninas ya que ambos dan cuenta de la emocion, el sentimiento y el dolor para conceptualizar esta emocion. Sin embargo, se pudo ver que las conceptualizaciones de la tristeza que los participantes reproducen provienen del sentido comun, lo cual demuestra que las representaciones que estos ninos y ninas han construido sobre esta emocion tendrian un componente social muy marcado. Con respecto a los factores asociados, se destacan los contextos familiar y escolar, principalmente los malos tratos, peleas y muertes en la familia, los problemas de bullying y el bajo rendimiento academico. Finalmente, con relacion a las estrategias de autorregulacion, se encontraron diferencias en las estrategias conductuales: los ninos utilizan mas el aislamiento y las ninas la busqueda de apoyo. ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to establish the differences or similarities in relation to the concept of sadness, the associated factors that produce it and the self-regulation strategies of this emotion in ten years old male and female children. A qualitative methodology was used through a structured interview and focal group interviews. For doing this, a sample of 40 male and female children of public and private educative institutions was selected through intentional sampling. No divergences in the concept of sadness in male and female children were identified, since both male and female children give account of the emotion, the feeling and the pain to conceptualize this emotion. However, it was possible to see that the concept of sadness that the subjects reproduced come from common sense, which shows that the representations that this boys and girls have built on this emotion would have a very marked social component. In respect of the associated factors to sadness the family and school contexts stand out, mainly ill-treatment, fights and death in the family, bullying problems and academic underachievement. Finally, in relation to the strategies for self-regulation divergences in the behavioural strategies were found: the male children use more the isolation while the female children use more the search for emotional support.