Summary: A large longitudinal study finds that preschool children who are slower to develop emotion regulation skills are more likely to show symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), internalizing problems (such as sadness and anxiety), and conduct difficulties by age seven. The research, based on nearly 19,000 participants, suggests that early monitoring of emotional development could help identify children who would benefit from timely, targeted mental health support.
Key facts:
- Slower development of emotion regulation between ages 3 and 7 is linked with higher ADHD symptoms at age seven.
- Children with persistent emotional dysregulation are more likely to experience internalizing symptoms (sadness, worry) and conduct problems.
- Tracking emotion regulation trajectories during early childhood could inform preventative interventions and targeted support.
Source: University of Edinburgh
Overview
A team of researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Northumbria and Oxford used data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study to examine how early emotion regulation development relates to mental health at school age. The cohort follows children born in 2000–2002 and includes information gathered from parents about their children’s behaviour, emotions, and social functioning. By analysing responses collected at ages 3, 5 and 7, the researchers explored whether initial levels and developmental changes in emotional regulation predicted symptoms of ADHD, internalizing problems, and conduct issues at age seven.
Study methods
The researchers applied longitudinal statistical methods to model emotion regulation trajectories across ages 3, 5 and 7. They assessed parent-reported measures of emotional dysregulation, conduct problems and attention-related behaviours, then tested whether higher initial dysregulation and slower reductions in dysregulation over time predicted greater symptom levels at age seven. Analyses accounted for potential confounders, including prior neurodevelopmental or mental health conditions, to isolate the association between emotion regulation development and later symptoms.
Main findings
Children who started with higher levels of emotional dysregulation and who showed slower improvement across early childhood were more likely to exhibit:
- Increased ADHD symptoms by age seven;
- Greater internalizing symptoms, such as sadness and worry;
- More conduct-related problems.
These relationships were observed in both boys and girls and remained significant after accounting for other developmental and mental health risk factors. In short, early trajectories of emotion regulation appear to be an important observable marker associated with a range of later childhood mental health outcomes.
Implications for practice
Because emotion regulation skills are typically acquired and strengthened during early childhood, tracking how these skills develop offers a practical opportunity for early identification. Children who show persistent emotional dysregulation may benefit from preventive, transdiagnostic interventions that support emotion regulation skills, potentially reducing later ADHD symptoms, internalizing issues and conduct problems. Early screening in preschool or early primary school settings could help clinicians, educators and families target resources to children most likely to benefit.
Research lead commentary
Dr Aja Murray, who led the study at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, emphasises that emotion regulation develops at different rates in different children and that slower acquisition of these skills may flag underlying neurodevelopmental or emerging mental health difficulties. Monitoring developmental trajectories of emotion regulation, she suggests, could help identify children at risk so that support can be offered earlier.
About this research
Author: Joanne Morrison
Source: University of Edinburgh
Contact: Joanne Morrison – University of Edinburgh
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Aja Murray et al., “Early emotion regulation developmental trajectories and ADHD, internalizing, and conduct problems symptoms in childhood.” Development and Psychopathology. Open access.
Abstract summary
Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic factor implicated in multiple neurodevelopmental and psychiatric outcomes. This study used longitudinal data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study to evaluate whether trajectories of emotion regulation across ages 3, 5 and 7 predict levels of ADHD symptoms, internalizing problems and conduct problems at age seven. The results show that both higher initial emotional dysregulation and slower declines in dysregulation over early childhood predict higher symptom levels across these domains in both sexes. These findings support the value of monitoring emotion regulation development and suggest that early support to strengthen emotion regulation skills may offer a promising preventive strategy for multiple childhood mental health risks.