Self-regulation patterns in kindergarten children: A latent profile analysis

Early childhood self-regulation is foundational for academic, social, and emotional development. Although self-regulation domains are strongly intertwined, the majority of developmental research focuses on single-regulation domains, neglecting how multiple self-regulation domains jointly contribute to children's overall self-regulation. Person-centered approaches offer the possibility to identify self-regulation profiles, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of different self-regulation patterns while also considering potential heterogeneity among individuals. In the present study, we conducted a latent profile analysis and included four self-regulation domains: attention regulation, emotion regulation, behavioral regulation, and cognitive regulation. The sample consisted of N = 254 Swiss kindergarteners ( M age = 6.0 years, 51.2 % female, 24.2 % migration background). The results revealed three self-regulation profiles: Competent regulators (74 %), children showing cross-domain regulation difficulties (19 %), and children with pronounced behavioral regulation difficulties (7 %). Moreover, covariate analysis revealed profile differences regarding behavioral problems, parental involvement, age, and gender. • The results showed three latent self-regulation profiles in kindergarteners. • Two distinct self-regulation difficulties profiles were identified. • Profile membership was related to behavioral problems, involved parenting, and age. • Profile membership was unrelated to parental corporal punishment.