Differences in students’ emotion regulation considering perceived learning environment

Research on students’ emotion regulation strategies (ERS) lacks information about their individual preferences for various ERS, and rarely examined within-person fluctuations and between-person differences in ERS development. Furthermore, the school environment has hardly been considered. We conducted two studies on students’ use of ERS in dealing with emotionally challenging classroom situations (DECCS). This study had two aims: (1) To explore ERS latent profiles, examining the role of mathematics achievement emotions and performance, and (2) To differ-entiate between within-person fluctuations and between-person differences in ERS, considering students’ perceived environment. We involved 635 4th to 7th-grade stu-dents (Sample 1) and 140 5th-grade students (Sample 2). We measured their ERS use through the DECCS questionnaire, at one point in Study 1 and across three waves in Study 2. Respectively for the two studies, we conducted a latent profile analysis with a three-step approach and a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). For Study 1, a four-profile solution fitted the data best. Profile 1 comprised the biggest group (84.8%; ambitious and high need satisfaction). Profile 3 (7.5%; flexible ERS, highest need for support, and low autonomy/competence) was significantly associated with more anger and less joy. For Study 2, the RI-CLPM showed non-significant autoregressive and cross-lagged paths. Moreover, the perceived environment was significantly and positively associated with ERS at each wave. Our findings indicate that students’ perceptions of their learning envi-ronment should also be considered when investigating their ERS use. Extending this knowledge is a preliminary step for developing resources to improve students’ ERS.