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. 2025 Jun;56(3):669-682.
doi: 10.1007/s10578-023-01595-w. Epub 2023 Aug 30.

Potentially Traumatic Events, Socioemotional and Adaptive Functioning: Associations with Self-Regulatory Skills in a Community Sample of Primarily Black and Latinx 3-5-year-olds

Hayley J Goldenthal  1   2 , Karen Gouze  3   4 , Jaclyn Russo  5 , Tali Raviv  3   4 , Carmen Holley  4 , Colleen Cicchetti  3   4
Affiliations

Potentially Traumatic Events, Socioemotional and Adaptive Functioning: Associations with Self-Regulatory Skills in a Community Sample of Primarily Black and Latinx 3-5-year-olds

Hayley J Goldenthal et al. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Early childhood is a heightened risk period for exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and a critical period for the development of foundational self-regulatory competencies that have potential cascading effects on future socioemotional functioning. This cross-sectional study examined associations between PTE exposure and socioemotional and adaptive functioning, and self-regulatory skills, in a community-based sample of 280 primarily Black and Latinx 3-5-year-olds. Results supported direct relations between PTE exposure and socioemotional and adaptive functioning. Attentional regulation was associated with PTEs and internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and adaptive behaviors. There was also a significant association of emotional regulation on the relationship between PTEs and internalizing and externalizing behaviors, but not adaptive functioning. Findings have implications for early intervention and educational and public policy, including the importance of scaffolding the development of self-regulatory skills among preschoolers with high PTE exposure.

Keywords: Adaptive functioning; Early childhood; PTEs; Self-regulation; Socioemotional functioning.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical Approval: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the authors’ institutions and by the Research Review Board of the school district. Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

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