The adolescent dysregulation profile and its association with educational, occupational, and substance use outcomes in emerging adulthood

The dysregulation profile (DP) in youth is characterized by severe emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dysregulation and is associated with an increased risk for psychiatric disorders. Adolescent self-regulation has important implications for adulthood outcomes, yet this association is understudied in the context of the DP in emerging adults. Using a Canadian adolescent sample (<i>N</i> = 662; <i>M</i> _age = 15.52), a dimensional approach to the DP was taken and associations between adolescent DP scores and educational, occupational and substance use outcomes in emerging adulthood (<i>M</i> _age = 25.77) were examined. Latent profile analysis revealed: a highly problematic group with elevated DP scores (<i>n</i> = 59; 8.9%); an average problems group with average DP scores (<i>n</i> = 285; 43.1%); and a low problems group with below average DP scores (<i>n</i> = 318; 48%). The highly problematic group reported the lowest occupational statuses, and the highest prevalence of unemployment and substance dependencies. These results demonstrate the impact of subthreshold adolescent DP scores on emerging adulthood outcomes.