Developmental trajectories of mother reported regulatory problems from toddlerhood to preschool age

Developmental trajectories of mother-reported regulatory problems of typically developing children from age one and a half to four years old and possible predictors of various trajectories are analyzed in this study. Participants were 281 children born as full-term babies and their mothers. The attention and behavior regulation (ABR) problems and emotion regulation (ER) problems scales derived from maternal ratings on CBCL/1½-5 were used. Also, data on the neonate's functioning, problem behaviors in infancy, maternal postpartum depressiveness, SES, maternal self-efficacy, and parenting practices were gathered prospectively at different time points and were analyzed as factors of regulatory problems. The latent class analysis for ABR problems over time suggested a 4-class solution: 35% of children were classified as having stable low, 27.6% - stable medium, 22.6% - decreasing and 14.1% - stable high levels of problems. Analysis of ER problems suggested a 3-class solution: 65% showed stable low, 25.1% - decreasing and 9.2% - increasing level of problems. Results showed the significance of maternal self-efficacy in predicting mother-rated emotional and behavioral regulation problems. Young maternal age and non-marital status resulted as risk factors for ABR problems, and lower maternal education differentiated the increasing from decreasing ER problems trajectories. Maternal depressiveness was found to be an additional risk factor for stable high ABR problems as opposed to decreasing trajectory, and lower scores of supportive responses predicted increasing vs. decreasing ER problems. Apgar scores were added only for high vs. medium ABR problems, and behavior problems in infancy for increasing vs. low ER problems trajectory in the study sample. Female gender was a stable predictor for a trajectory of low ABR problems. Early risk factors related with high ABR problems or increasing ER problems trajectories that may be important targets for intervention practices as well as further research are discussed.