Self-regulation in childhood as a predictor of future outcomes: A meta-analytic review.
Abstract
This meta-analysis explores whether self-regulation in childhood relates to concurrent and subsequent levels of achievement, interpersonal behaviors, mental health, and healthy living. A comprehensive literature search identified 150 studies that met inclusion criteria (745 effect sizes; total n = 215,212). Data were analyzed using inverse-variance weighted random effects meta-analysis. Mean effect sizes from 55 meta-analyses provided evidence that self-regulation relates to 25 discrete outcomes. Results showed that self-regulation in preschool (∼age 4) was positively associated with social competency, school engagement, and academic performance, and negatively associated with internalizing problems, peer victimization, and externalizing problems, in early school years (∼age 8). Self-regulation in early school years was positively related to academic achievement (math and literacy), and negatively related to externalizing problems (aggressive and criminal behavior), depressive symptoms, obesity, cigarette smoking and illicit drug use, in later school years (∼age 13). Results also showed that self-regulation in early school years was negatively related to unemployment, aggressive and criminal behavior, depression and anxiety, obesity, cigarette smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, and symptoms of physical illness in adulthood (∼age 38). Random effects metaregression identified self-regulation measurement as the most important moderator of pooled mean effects, with task-based…
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A recent comprehensive meta-analysis investigating childhood self-regulation and social, behavioral, and health outcomes found many concurrent and longitudinal associations.
“A recent, comprehensive meta-analysis investigating childhood self-regulation and social, behavioral, and health outcomes found many concurrent and longitudinal associations, but, notably, this meta-analysis explicitly excluded assessments of executive function (Robson et al., 2020).”
From Early childhood executive function predicts concurrent and later social and behavioral outcomes: A review and meta-analysis. (2024) · cites this paper as Robson et al., 2020
This meta-analysis explicitly excluded assessments of executive function.
“A recent, comprehensive meta-analysis investigating childhood self-regulation and social, behavioral, and health outcomes found many concurrent and longitudinal associations, but, notably, this meta-analysis explicitly excluded assessments of executive function (Robson et al., 2020).”
From Early childhood executive function predicts concurrent and later social and behavioral outcomes: A review and meta-analysis. (2024) · cites this paper as Robson et al., 2020
Only 0.62% of effect sizes (k = 9 of 1,459) overlapped with those in a recent meta-analysis on self-regulation (Robson et al., 2020).
“Specifically, only 0.62% of our effect sizes ( k = 9 of 1,459) overlapped with those in a recent meta-analysis on self-regulation (Robson et al., 2020).”
From Early childhood executive function predicts concurrent and later social and behavioral outcomes: A review and meta-analysis. (2024) · cites this paper as Robson et al., 2020
Teachers are more objective reporters on children's behavior.
“A straightforward way to interpret this finding is that teachers are more objective reporters on children's behavior, which would be consistent with other recent findings that parent reports on self-regulation-related outcomes are less reliable than other assessment approaches (Robson et al., 2020).”
From Early childhood executive function predicts concurrent and later social and behavioral outcomes: A review and meta-analysis. (2024) · cites this paper as Robson et al., 2020
Parent reports on self-regulation-related outcomes are less reliable than other assessment approaches.
“A straightforward way to interpret this finding is that teachers are more objective reporters on children's behavior, which would be consistent with other recent findings that parent reports on self-regulation-related outcomes are less reliable than other assessment approaches (Robson et al., 2020).”
From Early childhood executive function predicts concurrent and later social and behavioral outcomes: A review and meta-analysis. (2024) · cites this paper as Robson et al., 2020
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- Authors
- Robson, D. A., Allen, M. S., & Howard, S. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Wollongong (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Allen, Mark S.
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 2020-04
- Volume
- 146
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 324-354
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W3000181952
- Cited by
- 759
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 129 · 2025: 153 · 2024: 166 · 2023: 112 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 65 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 30.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Keywords
- self-regulation, childhood, academic performance, social competence, school engagement, internalizing problems, externalizing problems, peer victimization, depressive symptoms, obesity, substance use, smoking, unemployment, mental health, healthy living, longitudinal prediction, task-based assessment, parent report
- MeSH terms
- Criminal Behavior, Self-Control, Cigarette Smoking, Academic Performance, Achievement, Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Child, Depression, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Mental Health, Obesity, Peer Group, Schools, Unemployment, Substance-Related Disorders, Bullying
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