A PROMIS®ing New Measure for Quantifying Emotion Dysregulation in Toddlers and Preschoolers: Development of the Emotion Dysregulation Inventory-Young Child.
Taylor N Day, Jessie B Northrup, Carla A Mazefsky
PMID 35403207WHAT IT FOUND
A new parent-report measure for emotion dysregulation in toddlers with autism showed strong reliability and sensitivity to symptoms in a small pilot.
Scores were significantly higher in children with autism than those without, particularly for reactivity.
Key findings
01The new measure showed high internal consistency for both reactivity and dysphoria subscales in the pilot sample.
02Toddlers with autism scored significantly higher on reactivity and dysphoria than their non-autistic peers.
03Higher scores on the new measure correlated strongly with established behavioral problems on the Child Behavior Checklist.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The pilot sample was very small (31 toddlers), limiting generalizability. The subscales were not derived from factor analysis in this age group but were assigned based on the original EDI structure. Dysphoria scores were low and skewed, suggesting the measure may not yet be sensitive enough to capture subtle differences in sadness or unease in toddlers. The sample was predominantly male and White, so demographic representativeness is limited.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by NIH (R01HD079512).
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this measure for clinical diagnosis or treatment planning yet. The subscales are preliminary and not empirically derived for this age group, and the pilot sample was too small to establish robust validity or sensitivity to change.