Longitudinal associations between self-regulation and the academic and behavioral adjustment of young children born preterm

•Examined factor structure of 36-month self-regulation in children born preterm.•A unitary self-regulation factor rather than executive function/effortful control factors provided the most parsimonious fit to data.•Self-regulation mediated associations between early sociodemographic risk and mothers' ratings of academic competence and externalizing problems.•Early intervention focusing on parental sensitivity is needed to prevent exacerbation of self-regulation deficits associated with preterm birth.

Much of the research to date about the structure of self-regulation in early childhood has been conducted with low medical risk samples, with the general conclusion that self-regulation can be separated into overlapping executive function and effortful control factors that differentially predict child outcomes. We examined the factor structure of 36-month self-regulation among children born prematurely (n = 168) and the extent to which self-regulation predicted maternal ratings of children's socioemotional and academic competence when they were six years of age. Statistical analyses revealed a single self-regulation factor for this high neonatal risk sample, and this self-regulation factor mediated associations between early sociodemographic risk and mothers' ratings of academic competence and externalizing problems. Our findings suggest that early intervention research with children born preterm should focus on promoting supportive early environments, particularly parental sensitivity to infant cues.