Self-regulation

Image Source: Chat GPT 4

Self-regulation is an essential life skill that involves the ability to manage one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve goals or adapt to various situations (Malanchini, Engelhardt, Grotzinger, Harden, & Tucker-Drob, 2019). Developing self-regulation is a dynamic process that takes place throughout childhood and adolescence, beginning with the development of an understanding of the rules and a desire to control their behaviors to conform to social norms (Tsang, Hui, and Law, 2012). During early elementary school, most children have begun to learn that immediate gratification must sometimes be deferred to achieve longer-term goals, a concept known as delayed gratification (Twito, Israel, Simonson & Knafo-Noam, 2019). Children in this age group also start developing more sophisticated emotional self-regulation strategies. They begin to recognize and label their emotions accurately and use simple strategies to manage their feelings such as taking deep breaths or seeking comfort from an adult (Denham, 2007).

As they progress from elementary into middle school, children’s self-regulation skills continue to expand and become more nuanced. They develop a greater ability to focus and sustain attention on tasks, resist distractions, and shift their attention as needed. Children in this age group also begin to use more complex strategies for emotional self-regulation. They may employ cognitive strategies such as reevaluating a situation to change their emotional response to it (reappraisal). They also start to demonstrate an improved ability to regulate their behaviors to fit different social contexts (Silk, Steinberg & Morris, 2003).

During adolescence, self-regulation skills become more consolidated and refined. Adolescents improve in their ability to plan, monitor, and adjust their behaviors to achieve their goals. They also develop a better capacity for decision-making and problem-solving, which are key aspects of cognitive self-regulation (Allen & Nelson, 2018). Emotional self-regulation also evolves during adolescence. Adolescents become better at using cognitive strategies to manage their emotions, and they develop a greater capacity to tolerate negative emotions without acting impulsively. However, the significant physical, cognitive, and social changes that occur during adolescence can also pose challenges to self-regulation. For instance, adolescents may struggle with impulsivity, risk-taking, and emotional instability due to the ongoing development of their brains, and specifically the pre-frontal cortex, which plays a significant role in executive functions such as planning, anticipating the outcomes of actions, and emotional regulation (Dumontheil, 2016).