Self- and co-regulation during early childhood in a Chilean sample: translation and validation of the IMMA-SF questionnaire / Autorregulación y corregulación durante la primera infancia en una muestra chilena: traducción y validación del cuestionario IMMA-SF

During the first years of life, children need the support of their caregivers to regulate their internal states and behaviours. For this purpose, parents can use different strategies. This article presents the Spanish version of the instrument ‘IMpulse-MAnagement in the caregiver–child dyad Short-Form’ (IMMA-SF), which questions parents about (a) general beliefs and goals regarding child self-regulation, (b) children’s responses to goal-frustration and parental demands, and (c) parental co-regulation strategies. A total of 527 parents with children aged one to six years, living in different regions of Chile, completed the IMMA-SF questionnaire online. The IMMA-SF proved to be a valid tool for assessing child self-regulation and parental co-regulation during early childhood in the Chilean population, as indicated by the largely adequate fit indices. Parents have higher expectations and use negotiation more often when the child has siblings or attends kindergarten, and with higher family income. Parents also describe their children as showing more compliance and better negotiation skills as they get older, especially if they attend kindergarten or have siblings.