Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire: a Factorial Validation Study in Spanish for Children (CERQ-k)

The cognitive regulation of emotions is a fundamental variable in socio-affective functioning, being an essential skill in childhood due to its relationship with multiple areas of social functioning. Although there is a version that allows evaluating this construct (CERQ-k), translated and adapted for Argentine children, the structural model found does not fully coincide with the model proposed by the authors of the original version of CERQ.

To test, through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), the model obtained in the adapted version and compare it with that of the original version of the instrument.

From a non-probabilistic sample, 761 children between the ages of 9 and 12, from the provinces of Entre Ríos and Córdoba, participated in the study. Descriptive analyzes of the items, CFA, and reliability analysis were carried out.

The CFA indicated an adequate fit in both models, although the second-order model proved to be more parsimonious and with satisfactory fit and error indices.

The CERQ-k version adapted to Argentina, whose structure has been confirmed in this study, allows a valid and reliable measure of the construct to evaluate the cognitive regulation of emotion in children aged 9 to 12 years.