The Relationship between Temperamental Negative Affect, Effortful Control, and Sensory Regulation: A New Look.

Temperamental negative affectivity (NA) and effortful control (EC) have long been of interest to psychologists, but sensory regulation (SR) has received less attention. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the present study reexamined the Rothbart model of EC and NA using the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ; M.K. Rothbart, S.A. Ahadi, K.L. Hershy, & P. Fisher, 2001), along with alternative models of EC, NA, and SR using the CBQ and Short Sensory Profile. The results failed to replicate the Rothbart model of EC and NA, which includes SR within the EC and NA factors. A good fit was found for a three-factor model (EC, NA, and SR) that was replicated in a holdout sample. A three-factor model also showed a good fit when EC, NA, and SR items similar to symptoms of behavior problems were eliminated.