Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC)

Abstract

The Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) is a widely utilized psychological scale designed to assess adaptive and maladaptive emotional functioning in children, particularly those of grade-school age. Developed by Shields and Cicchetti, the instrument provides a measure of two distinct factors: adaptive Emotion Regulation (ER) and maladaptive Emotion Lability/Negativity (EL/N). The ERC is typically completed by parents or teachers, offering a reliable, observer-rated assessment of a child’s capacity to manage emotional states, recover from distress, and exhibit appropriate social responses.

Keywords

Emotion Regulation Checklist, ERC, Emotion Regulation, Emotion Lability, child psychopathology, psychological assessment, temperament, middle childhood, rating scale.

Authors

Amy M. Shields, Dante Cicchetti

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) is to provide researchers and clinicians with a standardized, economical measure for evaluating individual differences in children’s emotional functioning. It was specifically developed to assess children who may be considered “at risk,” such as those exposed to parental maltreatment or other adverse environmental factors, where difficulties in emotional control are often pronounced. By distinguishing between positive, controlled emotional behaviors (Regulation) and volatile, negative behaviors (Lability/Negativity), the ERC facilitates targeted intervention planning and research into developmental psychopathology.

The scale aims to capture observable behaviors related to a child’s ability to cope with frustration, modulate excitement, respond to social overtures, and manage negative affect, thereby offering valuable insight into their overall socioemotional competence and adaptation.

Construct

The ERC measures a higher-order construct of emotional competence through two empirically derived, negatively correlated factors:

• Emotion Regulation (ER): This factor reflects adaptive emotional functioning. It includes items related to positive affect, responsiveness to others, the ability to delay gratification, rapid recovery from distress, and the capacity to express emotions verbally (e.g., items 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 21). High scores on this subscale indicate effective, controlled, and socially appropriate emotional management.

• Emotion Lability/Negativity (EL/N): This factor reflects maladaptive emotional functioning, characterized by volatility and negative emotionality. It includes items related to mood swings, angry outbursts, impulsivity, frustration, sadness, and disruptive exuberance (e.g., items 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20). High scores on this subscale suggest difficulties in maintaining stable emotional states and controlling intense negative affect, which often correlates with externalizing problems like aggression.

Validity

Initial research on the ERC established strong evidence of its construct and criterion validity. Shields and Cicchetti (1997) demonstrated that the ERC scales successfully differentiated children based on their observed emotional behavior and socioemotional adjustment. Specifically, the Emotion Regulation factor was positively associated with measures of social competence and peer acceptance, while the Emotion Lability/Negativity factor was strongly associated with aggression, internalizing symptoms, and peer rejection.

Furthermore, the ERC has shown predictive validity in longitudinal studies, linking early scores on the Emotion Lability/Negativity subscale to later developmental outcomes, including increased risk for bullying and victimization in middle childhood, particularly when combined with environmental risk factors like parental maltreatment (Shields & Cicchetti, 2001).

Reliability

The ERC demonstrates good to excellent internal consistency and adequate test-retest reliability. Across various studies, the two primary subscales typically yield high coefficients for Internal Consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha). For the Emotion Regulation subscale, reliability coefficients generally fall in the .80 to .90 range, indicating strong coherence among the adaptive items. The Emotion Lability/Negativity subscale similarly exhibits high internal consistency, often exceeding .85.

Inter-rater reliability, which is crucial for observer-rated scales, has also been established, demonstrating that different raters (e.g., two teachers or a parent and a teacher) tend to agree on the child’s emotional profiles, supporting the robustness of the scale for clinical and research applications.

Factor Analysis

The original development and validation of the ERC utilized Factor Analysis to confirm the underlying structure of the 24 items. This analysis consistently supported a two-factor model, corresponding precisely to the theoretical constructs of adaptive Emotion Regulation and maladaptive Emotion Lability/Negativity. Items loading onto the ER factor are positively worded and reflect control and positive affect, while items loading onto the EL/N factor are largely negatively worded and reflect volatility, distress, and externalizing tendencies.

This confirmed two-factor structure ensures that the scale is measuring two distinct, though related, dimensions of emotional competence, rather than a single, unidimensional construct of generalized emotional adjustment.

Instrument

Test Type: Observer-rated checklist/Psychometric Scale

Format: 24 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = Rarely or Never, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, 4 = Almost Always)

Language Available: Primarily English (translations may exist in subsequent research applications)

Population Group: Children (often used with at-risk populations)

Age Group: School-age children (typically 6 to 12 years old, or middle childhood)

Population Details: The scale was initially validated using samples of at-risk grade-school children, but it is broadly applicable to diverse populations of school-age children.

Test Methodology: Raters (parents, teachers, or caregivers) observe the child’s behavior over a specified period and rate the frequency or intensity with which the child exhibits the behaviors described in the 24 items.

Keywords

Emotional competence, child development, socioemotional adjustment, psychological assessment, rating scale, temperament, developmental psychopathology, clinical psychology.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not publicly provided in the source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not publicly provided in the source material.

Correspondence Address: Refer to the primary author’s affiliation at the time of publication (e.g., Shields or Cicchetti at the Mt. Hope Family Center, University of Rochester).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The ERC was first presented in 1995 (Shields & Cicchetti) and formally validated in 1997. It is generally considered a freely available academic instrument for research purposes, though formal permission may be required from the authors for large-scale clinical use or modifications. The original instrument can be found referenced in various academic works, including theses, such as this example: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1839&context=ma‎sters-theses. The original PDF describing the instrument and its use can be downloaded here: https://shareok.org/bitstream/handle/11244/11069/Brannon_okstate_0664M_12678.pdf?sequence=1

Reference’s

• Shields, A. M., & Cicchetti, D. (1995). The development of an emotion regulation assessment battery: Reliability and validity among at-risk grade-school children. Poster session presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Indianapolis, IN.

• Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Emotion regulation among school-age children: The development and validation of a new criterion Q-sort scale. Developmental Psychology, 33(6): 906-916.

• Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (1998). Reactive Aggression Among Maltreated Children: The Contributions of Attention and Emotion Dysregulation. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 7: 381-395.

• Shields, A., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Parental Maltreatment and Emotion Dysregulation as Risk Factors for Bullying and Victimization in Middle Childhood. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30: 349-363.

• Pursell, Gwen Renae. (2002). “The effects of childhood social competence on young adults interpersonal competence in dyadic and family relations: an exploratory analysis”. University of Richmond, M.A. Theses.

Items of the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Is a cheerful child.
2. Exhibits wide mood swings (child’s emotional state is difficult to anticipate because he/she moves quickly from a positive to a negative mood.
3. Responds positively to neutral or friendly overtures by adults
4. Transitions well from one activity to another, doesn’t become angry, anxious, distressed or overly excited when moving from one activity to another.
5. Can recover quickly from upset or distress (for example, doesn’t pout or remain sullen, anxious, or sad after emotionally distressing events).
6. Is easily frustrated.
7. Responds positively to neutral or friendly overtures by peers.
8. Is prone to angry outbursts/tantrums easily.
9. Is able to delay gratification.
10. Takes pleasure in the distress of others (for example, laughs when another person gets hurt or punished; seems to enjoy teasing others).
11. Can modulate excitement (for example, doesn’t get “carried away” in high energy situations or overly excited in inappropriate contexts).
12. Is whiny or clingy with adults.
13. Is prone to disruptive outbursts of energy and exuberance.
14. Responds angrily to limit setting by adults.
15. Can say when he/she is feeling sad, angry, or mad, fearful or afraid.
16. Seems sad or listless.
17. Is overly exuberant when attempting to engage others in play.
18. Displays flat affect (expression is vacant or inexpressive; child seems emotionally absent.
19. Responds negatively to neutral or friendly overtures by peers (for example, may speak in an angry tone of voice or respond fearfully.
20. Is impulsive.
21. Is empathetic toward others; shows concern when others are upset or distressed.
22. Displays exuberance that others find intrusive or disruptive.
23. Displays appropriate negative emotions (anger, fear, frustration, distress) in response to hostile, aggressive, or intrusive acts by peers.
24. Displays negative emotions when attempting to engage others in play.

Scoring: 1 = Rarely or Never, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, 4 = Almost Always

Subscale Item Mapping: Emotion Regulation (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 21). The remaining items load onto Emotion Lability/Negativity.