Exploration and cross-validation for the latent profiles of emotion regulation difficulties among college students

The purpose of this project was to identify and cross-validate distinct profiles of emotion regulation difficulties. In Study 1 (N = 438 U.S. college students), latent profile analysis identified three distinct profiles: Challenged, At-Risk, and Functional. Attachment anxiety and avoidance significantly differentiated the three profiles. Additionally, those in the Challenged profile reported the highest anxiety, depression, and distress and the lowest psychological wellness. In Study 2, profile similarity analyses cross-validated the three profiles to 227 European American and 155 Taiwanese college students. These results suggested the three profiles identified in Study 1 remained consistent across European American and Taiwanese cultures. Sociotropy (dependence) and autonomy (self-criticism) significantly differentiated the three profiles. Moreover, in both samples, those with the Functional profile reported the lowest anxiety/depression and highest self-esteem/life satisfaction. Compared to European Americans, Taiwanese reported less anxiety across all profiles, less depression in the Challenged profile, less self-esteem in the At-Risk and Functional profiles, and less life satisfaction in the At-Risk profile. The project’s findings suggest significant implications for clinicians, researchers, and educators. It underscores the necessity of incorporating emotion regulation topics to better support students and highlights the value of identifying specific patterns in college students’ emotion regulation challenges for customized treatment strategies. Across two studies, we identified and confirmed three distinct profiles based on college students’ reports of emotion regulation difficulties: the Functional, At-Risk, and Challenged profiles. Notably, these three profiles are similar for European American college students and Taiwanese college students. The three profiles could be differentiated by adult attachment and personal styles and were associated with different levels of positive and negative psychological outcomes.