Emotion regulation profiles across time: a latent transition analysis

Difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with mental health problems during adolescence. This study aimed to identify distinct emotion regulation profiles in adolescents, examine potential differences between profiles, and examine transitions between profiles over time using a person-centered approach with Latent Profile Analysis and Latent Transition Analysis on longitudinal data from two time points in 198 adolescents (M age 14.20 at T1 and 15.43 at T2). Five emotion regulation profiles that significantly differed in psychological well-being, social support, nonsuicidal self-injury, gender, and stability were identified: No Difficulties, Low Difficulties, Impulsive, Moderate and in Control, and Severe Difficulties. The No Difficulties profile was the most stable. Adolescents in the other profiles most often transitioned to improved profiles. The Impulsive profile represented a unique and unstable pattern. These findings highlight variability in adolescent emotion regulation abilities and the importance of a person-centered approach for understanding emotion regulation development.