This study aimed to examine the emotion regulation and executive function skills of children aged 48-72 months in the context of age and gender. The study included 200 children aged 48-72 months enrolled in kindergartens with the Ministry of National Education in the Mut district of Mersin province. The 'Child Personal Information Form', 'Emotion Regulation Skills Scale', and 'Touchscreen Executive Function Battery' were utilized as data collection tools. The Bayes Mann-Whitney U Test was employed to determine whether emotion regulation and executive function (inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility) scores differed according to gender and age. According to the research results, it was found that the relationship between inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and emotion regulation differed depending on age and gender in children with high working memory. No significant relationship was found between cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation, or between inhibitory control and emotion regulation, in boys and girls aged 48-72 months with low working memory, nor in boys and girls aged 48-60 months with high working memory. However, a significant relationship was identified between cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation, and between inhibitory control and emotion regulation, in boys and girls aged 61-72 months with high working memory. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that the relationship between cognitive control mechanisms and emotion regulation in children is shaped not only by possessing a high working memory capacity but also by advancing age and developmental maturity.
Dağ et al. (2026) studied this question.