Measuring self-regulation in pre-schoolers: Links to later language development and behavioural difficulties.

The ability to self-regulate—managing one’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotions—develops gradually throughout childhood (Thompson, 2009). In particular, during the second and third years of life, children begin to control impulsive actions and prepotent responses and become capable of behavioral compliance (Kochanska et al., 2001), which is associated with more optimal developmental outcomes (e.g., Eisenberg et al.). However, the literature presents a complex picture of the relations between different components of self-regulation, including hot and cool executive functions (EF) and emotion regulation. Furthermore, little is known about the role of children's emotional reactivity and the valence of emotions in the relations between EF and emotion regulation. Therefore, this study aims to explore the associations between various hot/cool EF, emotion regulation, and emotional reactivity tasks involving emotions of different valences. Additionally, we examine the longitudinal influence of hot and cool EF, emotion regulation, and emotion reactivity on children's verbal ability and behavioral difficulties. By addressing questions that have been rarely explored, this study seeks to provide a clearer picture of preschoolers' self-regulation development and expand upon existing literature in this field.