Analyzing the latent factor structure of self-regulation in preschoolers: New directions regarding a differentiation of cool self-regulation

ABSTRACT

Self-regulation in preschool-aged children is a much-researched topic, but there are still disagreements regarding the dimensionality of the construct. Most studies distinguish between hot and cool self-regulation and consider self-regulation as two-factorial. Hot self-regulation tasks refer to the ability to adapt appropriately to emotional stimuli, while cool self-regulation tasks are emotionally neutral. Our study contributes to the understanding of self-regulation at preschool age and reveals new insights concerning a more differentiated view of cool self-regulation. With a total sample of 434 preschool-aged children, we conducted confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses that demonstrated a three-factorial solution. In accordance with the variables that determined the factor structure, we inferred one hot and two cool self-regulation dimensions. We identified a time component in task scoring as a potential reason for the differentiation in cool self-regulation. The novelty of our findings and study limitations are considered.