Measures Of Self-regulation Research Articles

Gender Differences in the Prediction of Children’s Weight Status from Measures of Non-Eating and Eating Self-Regulation

Abstract Objectives The goal of this study was to investigate gender differences in the prediction of BMI z-scores in children ages 7 to 9. Predictors included well-known measures of non-eating and eating self-regulation assessed during the preschool years (ages 4 to 5). Methods Participants were part of a longitudinal study examining eating behaviors in Hispanic families with low-income levels living in a large urban city in southeast United States. Children and their parents were seen at Time 1 (ages 4–5), Time 2 (ages 5 ½-6 ½), and at Time 3 (ages 7–9). One hundred and thirty families had data on all variables needed for the current analyses. Both parent-report questionnaires as well as observational protocols were used to measure child self-regulation. Parent-report questionnaires included satiety responsiveness and food responsiveness (two child eating self-regulatory measures known to be associated with childhood obesity) and effortful control (a self-regulatory aspect of child temperament). Observational protocols included eating in the absence of hunger (a well-known child eating self-regulation measure) and executive functioning, delay of gratification, and emotional regulation (all measures of non-eating self-regulation). Height and weight were objectively measured on the children. Regressions were conducted to predict child weight status at ages 7 to 9 from measures of child eating and non-eating self-regulatory processes. Data on boys and girls were analyzed in different regressions. Parent-reported measures were analyzed separately from observational measures. Results Only the regression for girls, predicting Time 3 child BMI z-scores from observational measures, showed significant effects over and above the effects of Time 1 child BMI z-scores. Eating in the absence of hunger (eating self-regulation) positively predicted whereas delay of gratification (non-eating self-regulation) negatively predicted changes in girls’ BMI z-scores overtime. Conclusions The results of this study point to the importance of addressing non-eating self-regulation as well as eating self-regulation in future family-focused childhood obesity initiatives, especially those focused on Hispanic families with young children. Funding Sources Research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (R01 HD062567).

Proximal and distal predictors of self-regulatory change in children aged 4 to 7\u2009years

BackgroundGrowth in early self-regulation skills has been linked to positive health, wellbeing, and achievement trajectories across the lifespan. While individual studies have documented specific influences on self-regulation competencies in early childhood, few have modelled a comprehensive range of predictors of self-regulation change across health, development, and environment simultaneously. This study aimed to examine the concurrent associations among a range of proximal and distal influences on change in children’s self-regulation skills over 2 years from age 4–5 years.MethodsData from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 4983) were used in a structural equation model, predicting a multi-source composite measure of self-regulation at each of 4–5 years and 6–7 years. By controlling for earlier self-regulation and covariates, the model examined the relative contributions of a comprehensive range of variables to self-regulation change including health, development, educational, home environment, time-use, and neighbourhood characteristics.ResultsThe significant predictors of children’s self-regulation growth across 4 to 7 years were fewer behavioural sleep problems, higher gross motor and pre-academic skills, lower levels of maternal and paternal angry parenting, and lower levels of financial hardship. There were also marginal effects for high-quality home learning environments and child-educator relationships.ConclusionFindings suggest that if we are to successfully foster children’s self-regulation skills, interventionists would do well to operate not only on children’s current capacities but also key aspects of their surrounding context.

Learner-generated explanations: effects on restudying and learning from a multimedia lesson

Two experiments investigated how writing an explanation after studying a multimedia lesson influences restudy behavior (eye movements) and learning. In Experiment 1, college students who wrote a retention-based explanation (‘Explain how the car’s brake system works’) spent more time focusing on the text and less time on the picture during the restudy period than students who did not explain, resulting in better retention but not transfer performance. In Experiment 2, writing a transfer-based explanation (‘Suppose you press on the brake pedal in your car but the brakes don’t work. What could have gone wrong?’) did not significantly impact subsequent eye movements during restudying or learning outcomes. These findings highlight the challenges of designing generative activities to guide productive restudy behavior. We discuss implications for the utility of generative strategies and process measures of self-regulation.

Correlation Database of 60 Cross-Disciplinary Surveys and Cognitive Tasks Assessing Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is studied across various disciplines, including personality, social, cognitive, health, developmental, and clinical psychology; psychiatry; neuroscience; medicine; pharmacology; and economics. Widespread interest in self-regulation has led to confusion regarding both the constructs within the nomological network of self-regulation and the measures used to assess these constructs. To facilitate the integration of cross-disciplinary measures of self-regulation, we estimated product-moment and distance correlations among 60 cross-disciplinary measures of self-regulation (23 self-report surveys, 37 cognitive tasks) and measures of health and substance use based on 522 participants. The correlations showed substantial variability, though the surveys demonstrated greater convergent validity than did the cognitive tasks. Variables derived from the surveys only weakly correlated with variables derived from the cognitive tasks (M = .049, range = .000 to .271 for the absolute value of the product-moment correlation; M = .085, range = .028 to .241 for the distance correlation), thus challenging the notion that these surveys and cognitive tasks measure the same construct. We conclude by outlining several potential uses for this publicly available database of correlations.

The self in self-regulated writing of fourth to ninth graders with dysgraphia

ABSTRACT Dysgraphia, a specific learning disability, impairs legible and automatic letter production by hand, which can interfere with written composing. The goal of the current study was not to investigate effective methods for teaching self-regulated writing to students with dysgraphia, but rather to investigate their self that is involved in their self-regulated writing. Students with dysgraphia in grades 4 to 9 (17 males; 3 females, M = 139.44 months, SD = 12.15) composed six personal narratives about themselves and their relationships with others. Five indicators of self/self-others, informed by Theory of Mind, were coded in the six personal narratives. They also completed normed measures of self-regulation of attention and of written composing. Correlations identified which coded indicators of self/self-others and which measures of attention regulation were significantly related to the same written composing measure to be used as predictors in multiple regressions. Results showed that coded quality of Text Organization (Self Schema in Personal Story) for “My Life Before the School Years” as first predictor AND either Focused or Switching Attention as second predictor jointly accounted for significant variance and each predictor explained unique variance in writing fluency (timed composing). Implications of findings for educational practice and future research are discussed.

Self-Regulation and Executive Function Longitudinally Predict Advanced Learning in Preschool.

While the early years are often regarded as a critical period for establishing and supporting the developmental trajectories of delayed and typically developing children, they also represent a critical time for advanced learners. Yet to support advanced learners, a better understanding of sources and mechanisms of precocious early learning is needed. While there is ample research separately indicating importance of executive functions (EFs) and self-regulation for learning more broadly, it remains unclear whether, which, and to what extent EFs and/or self-regulation might account for the incidence of advanced learning in the prior-to-school years. The current study sought to investigate the EFs and self-regulation of 214 3- to 5-year old preschoolers, to better understand the profile of these abilities amongst advanced compared to non-advanced learners. Measures of self-regulation, EF and academic learning were taken at the start of the final pre-school year, and academic learning was assessed again at the end of the year. Results indicated that consistently advanced learning was predicted by socio-demographic factors (age, socioeconomic context), stronger cognitive development (combined EFs, cognitive aspects of self-regulation), yet lower behavioral self-regulation ratings. Results thus identify a profile of cognitive and behavioral characteristics of advanced early learners, which potentiates early identification and helps to clarify the nature and underpinnings of advanced early learning. It also raises questions about whether lower levels of behavioral self-regulation might constrain learning (e.g., difficulty remaining within the structures and sequences of the situation) or is a hallmark that is promotive of learning (e.g., convergent thinking, creativity).

Are there lessons from gambling control for tobacco control?

In addition to controlling cigarette pack sizes, tobacco control can learn from self-regulation measures used in the gambling market-place. Self-banning from gambling venues and ‘fintech’ (financial services technology) solutions that constrain gambling expenditure on credit cards could feasibly be adapted to support reduction of cigarette consumption. The notion that the quantities in which products are purchased impacts consumption patterns has been recognized 1. In this respect, discussion of the pack sizes in which cigarettes are offered for sale is of immense importance 2. Larger pack sizes may encourage consumption and inhibit intensions to quit smoking. In contrast, smaller pack sizes may facilitate smokers increasing their consumption levels, as the cost of smoking additional cigarettes is less if smaller packs can be purchased. More research is needed to evaluate pack size legislation before it is possible to conclude what the optimal pack size should be. However, there are other related ways in which it is possible to assist smokers in controlling their cigarette consumption. Below, two examples from the gambling market-place and their transferability into tobacco control are briefly explored; specifically: (i) self-regulation and (ii) fintech solutions. The examples come from the Australian gambling market-place, which is a useful place to look, as Australia has the world's largest per-capita expenditure on gambling, in terms of consumer losses, and has a focus within government, industry and advocacy groups on consumption control. The enforcement of self-imposed restrictions in the market-place has been present in the betting and gaming sector for some time. The focus is on the self-regulation by an individual of their consumption and the most extreme form of self-regulation is self-exclusion. Self-exclusion programmes allow consumers to voluntarily ban themselves from gaming venues and on-line platforms. These bans are usually for 12 months and often involve casinos, but they also involve local gambling venues that offer electronic gaming machines (pokies) and, more recently, on-line platforms 3, 4. They are currently enforced in venues by photos provided by the individual, which staff use to identify any breaches. However, it is possible for bans to be enforced through digital images and the use of facial recognition software at the point of entry but, to my knowledge, this technology is not yet being applied. On-line self-exclusion bans are enforced through the suspension of an individual's account. In principle, it is possible for supermarkets and news agencies to offer a similar programme so that smokers could self-ban themselves from purchasing cigarettes. While it is possible to use other vendors, the psychological barrier of having a ban in place, the risk of being refused a purchase and/or the inconvenience of having to travel further to find a vendor with whom you do not have a self-exclusion agreement may still result in a reduction of cigarette consumption for the individual and an increased likelihood of a successful quit attempt. Therefore, governments may consider legislating that all shops that sell cigarettes be required to offer customers the option to self-exclude. Another common self-regulation option available to gamblers is an expenditure cap, where players declare a daily limit on their credit card expenditure within a given venue or on-line gambling platform. Once they reach the limit, their card is refused. The possibility of accruing large gambling debts on credit cards through on-line platforms has led some banks and financial institutions to introduce a variety of credit card restrictions. These financial services technology or ‘fintech’ solutions vary across credit card providers, but include: (i) rules about the proportion of a card's credit limit that can be spent on gambling (usually 85%, although some banks allow customers to self-determine this amount), (ii) preventing credit cards from being used for gambling, (iii) restrictions on the level of withdrawals from cash machines at gambling venues, (iv) removal of the 30-day interest-free period for gambling purchases and (v) charging interest on gambling purchases at the same (or higher rate), as charged on cash withdrawals. These restrictions can be placed on purchases that are registered as gambling transactions. It is feasible for banks to apply a similar set of rules to cigarette purchases, although there are additional hurdles. In particular, credit card transactions from outlets that sell cigarettes would need to be identifiable at the point of sale and the value of the total expenditure related to cigarettes would need to be identifiable, given that cigarettes are sold in multi-product environments. The growth in fintech means the technology is available to do this. The gambling market-place offers new ideas on how to control consumption that are worthy of consideration in the tobacco control debate. While tobacco and alcohol control often share knowledge, less knowledge translation is evident between gambling and tobacco, yet I have shown here that there are avenues to be explored. None.

Direct and indirect pathways from children’s early self-regulation to academic achievement in fifth grade in Norway

A large body of research has documented the role of self-regulation in academic skill development for young children. However, few studies have investigated longitudinal and indirect effects from kindergarten through later elementary school. In this longitudinal Norwegian study, we investigated pathways from children’s self-regulation in kindergarten (Mage = 5.8; N = 243, 49% girls), to language and math skills in first grade (N = 240) and reading comprehension and math achievement in fifth grade (N = 160). Self-regulation was measured with direct and teacher-reported assessments. Path models showed that both directly assessed and teacher-reported self-regulation in kindergarten predicted math skills but not vocabulary and phonological awareness skills in first grade. Teacher-reported self-regulation indirectly predicted fifth grade reading comprehension through first grade teacher-reported self-regulation, and directly assessed self-regulation predicted fifth grade math achievement through math skills and directly assessed self-regulation in first grade. When controlling for kindergarten self-regulation, both self-regulation measures in first grade predicted fifth grade reading and directly assessed self-regulation predicted math achievement. Findings elucidate the foundational role of early self-regulation for later academic achievement and the differential effects of directly assessed versus teacher-reported self-regulation in a Norwegian sample.

The Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale in the differential diagnosis of behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease

Objective The Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale (BDS) is a brief measure of frontal systems that is adopted from Luria’s syndrome analysis approach. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of the BDS as an objective measure of self-regulation in behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods Two patient groups matched in education and dementia severity (n = 21 bvFTD and 21 AD) recruited from a memory clinic and a matched normal control (NC) group (n = 21) were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests including the BDS. Results ROC analyses revealed that performance on the BDS discriminated between the bvFTD group and the AD and NC groups, as well as between AD and NC groups. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis showed that the majority of the variance in BDS performance was explained by executive tests. Conclusions the BDS has good psychometric prosperities; is easy to administer and score; is well tolerated by geriatric patients; and is useful diagnostically for discriminating bvFTD from AD, yielding good to excellent sensitivity and specificity values.

"Same but different": Associations between multiple aspects of self-regulation, cognition, and academic abilities.

Self-regulation describes the ability to control both behaviors and internal states against a backdrop of conflicting or distracting situations, drives, or impulses. In the cognitive psychology tradition, individual differences in self-regulation are commonly measured with performance-based tests of executive functioning, whereas in the personality psychology tradition, individual differences in self-regulation are typically assessed with report-based measures of impulse control, sustained motivation, and perseverance. The goal of this project was (a) to comprehensively examine the structure of associations between multiple self-regulatory constructs stemming from the cognitive and personality psychology traditions; (b) to estimate how these constructs, individually and collectively, related to mathematics and reading ability beyond psychometric measures of processing speed and fluid intelligence; and (c) to estimate the extent to which genetic and environmental factors mediated the observed associations. Data were available for 1,019 child participants from the Texas Twin Project (M age = 10.79, range = 7.8-15.5). Results highlighted the differentiation among cognitive and personality aspects of self-regulation, both at observed and genetic levels. After accounting for processing speed and fluid intelligence, EF remained a significant predictor of reading and mathematics ability. Educationally relevant measures of personality-particularly an openness factor representing curiosity and intellectual self-concept-incrementally contributed to individual differences in reading ability. Collectively, measures of cognition, self-regulation, and other educationally relevant aspects of personality accounted for the entirety of genetic variance in mathematics and reading ability. The current findings point to the important independent role that each construct plays in academic settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

C.02.03 Managing ADHD and comorbid substance use disorders

A large and growing body of literature supports the association between cocaine addiction and impulsivity. The aim of the study was to test whether pretreatment screening for adult ADHD, and self-report and behavioral measures of impulsivity have prognostic utility in clinical practice with cocaine users. We enrolled a cohort of N = 86 treatment-seeking cocaine users, assisted by a public addiction service, in a 24 week study. At baseline, we performed screening for adult ADHD, assessed the presence of co-occurring mental disorders, and applied measures of drug use severity, trait-like impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale; BIS-11), decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task; IGT), risk-taking (Balloon Analogue Risk Task; BART), and ability to inhibit cognitive interference (Stroop Color Word Test; SCWT). Patients positive to the screening for ADHD showed a higher level of self-reported impulsivity and a longer history of drug use, but did not differ from those without ADHD in adherence to psychosocial treatments and number of negative urines for cocaine during the 24 weeks. Among all of the self-report and behavioral measures used, only IGT BIS-11 was associated with cocaine abstention. The small effect size and the problematic direction of the associations found do not give strong support to the routine use of self-regulation measures to guide clinical decisions in public addiction treatment settings.

How the Mindfulness Manifold Relates to the Five Moral Foundations, Prejudice, and Awareness of Privilege

We examined whether and how habitual mindfulness (defined as a broad manifold of self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence) relates to ethical sensitivities, operationalized as moral attitudes (as measured by the Moral Foundations Questionnaire) and prejudice. This is a cross-sectional study using factor analysis and path analysis in two independent samples (n = 358 and 424) of college students. With regard to mindfulness, we found that two higher-order measures of self-awareness (i.e., reflective awareness and controlled sense of self in the moment) influenced two higher-order measures of self-regulation (i.e., self-preoccupation and self-compassion), as well as self-transcendence, which was additionally influenced by self-regulation. Path analysis showed that reflective awareness and self-transcendence were directly related to individualizing aspects of morality (i.e., an emphasis on care and fairness); only self-transcendence and social conservatism were related to binding aspects of morality (i.e., an emphasis on loyalty, authority, and sanctity). The individualizing stance, in turn, led to less explicit prejudice, more awareness of privilege, and, indirectly, a higher motivation to control one’s prejudiced reactions. Implicit prejudice, however, was not related to any of the examined variables. The Stoic and Buddhist conjecture that ethical sensitivities can be fostered through mindfulness might well work: Distinct aspects of the mindfulness manifold were directly and indirectly related to the moral foundations; explicit prejudice, awareness of privilege, and the motivation to control one’s prejudiced reactions were likewise related to select aspects of the mindfulness manifold. Within the manifold, reflective awareness and self-transcendence are key variables implicated in awakening and fostering ethical sensitivities.

Predicting mid-life capital formation with pre-school delay of gratification and life-course measures of self-regulation.

How well do pre-school delay of gratification and life-course measures of self-regulation predict mid-life capital formation? We surveyed 113 participants of the 1967–1973 Bing pre-school studies on delay of gratification when they were in their late 40’s. They reported 11 mid-life capital formation outcomes, including net worth, permanent income, absence of high-interest debt, forward-looking behaviors, and educational attainment. To address multiple hypothesis testing and our small sample, we pre-registered an analysis plan of well-powered tests. As predicted, a newly constructed and pre-registered measure derived from preschool delay of gratification does not predict the 11 capital formation variables (i.e., the sign-adjusted average correlation was 0.02). A pre-registered composite self-regulation index, combining preschool delay of gratification with survey measures of self-regulation collected at ages 17, 27, and 37, does predict 10 of the 11 capital formation variables in the expected direction, with an average correlation of 0.19. The inclusion of the preschool delay of gratification measure in this composite index does not affect the index’s predictive power. We tested several hypothesized reasons that preschool delay of gratification does not have predictive power for our mid-life capital formation variables.

The development of adaptive risk taking and the role of executive functions in a large sample of school-age boys and girls

The Balloon Analogue Risk Task for Children (BART-C) demands self-regulation of emotion that requires risk-tolerance and adaptive risk-taking to make good decisions under stress (hot cognition). BART-C measures of adaptive risk-taking in 5,409 children K-8th grade were analyzed for improvements by grade, for relationships to executive functioning (EF) and for associations with school characteristics and academic achievement. BART-C improved across grades. Boys showed significantly greater Recklessness, particularly in middle school. EF was a partial mediator between grade and Variability and Recklessness. Better BART-C Total score and less Recklessness were related to lower free-or-reduced-school-lunch percentage and better math and reading proficiency of children's schools. BART-C is a potential "hot-cognition" measure of self-regulation and adaptive risk-taking for children.

A fractionated analysis of hot and cool self-regulation in cigarette smokers from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Smoking cigarettes and low socioeconomic status (SES) are both related to impaired cognition. However, it is unknown whether people of lower SES, who comprise most tobacco smokers worldwide, are more susceptible to cognitive impairment associated with smoking. In this non-randomized, cross-sectional study we investigated the effects of cigarette smoking, SES and their interaction on dissociable executive or “cool” and “hot” measures of behavioural self-regulation. Participants (n = 80) were selected among young physically and mentally healthy smokers and non-smokers who had graduated high school and were from different SES backgrounds. Cool self-regulation was measured by executive function tasks that tap inhibition, updating, shifting, dual tasking, planning, access to long-term memory (semantic fluency), and working memory capacity. Hot measures assessed self-reported impulsivity, delay discounting and risk taking. Exposure to tobacco (cotinine, exhaled carbon monoxide, tobacco dependence, cigarette consumption) was assessed to determine to what extent it mediated the cognitive effects of smoking. Nicotine abstinence and its acute effects were controlled, as were sex, age, schooling, and psychiatric symptoms despite the fact that smokers and non-smokers were selected as being as similar as possible in these demographic characteristics. Lower SES (less years of parental schooling) was associated with worse performance on tasks that measured all cool domains except dual tasking and fluency, while smoking status was related to impaired delayed discounting and impulsivity (hot domains), effects that were not mediated by tobacco exposure. Smoking and SES, however, did not interact. In short, impaired performance in measures of most cool skills was associated with SES irrespective of smoking status; in contrast, regardless of SES, smokers showed specific impairment in hot self-regulation domains (more difficulty resisting immediate temptations and weighing future consequences of actions). Possible explanations for the lack of mediation of tobacco exposure on hot skills of smokers are discussed.

Problematic Internet Use: The Relationship Between Resting Heart Rate Variability and Emotional Modulation of Inhibitory Control.

A growing literature suggests that problematic Internet use (PIU) is associated with defective inhibitory control. In this study, we sought to investigate the ability to inhibit prepotent motor responses in an emotional context in individuals with PIU, and to examine the relationship between inhibitory control and resting heart rate variability (HRV), which is regarded as a measure of self-regulation and adaptability. Problematic users (PU, n = 20) and nonproblematic users (non-PU, n = 20) completed an emotional Go/NoGo task, involving the presentation of unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral pictures. The electrocardiogram was recorded at rest for a 3-minute period. PU showed lower resting HRV, relative to non-PU. Although reaction times (RTs) to Go task stimuli were not faster in PU, relative to non-PU, accuracy rates were significantly lower among PU, irrespective of pictures' emotional content. Only among PU did lower resting HRV predict lower response accuracy in pleasant and unpleasant Go trials and less efficient task performance (combining RTs to Go trials and accuracy to NoGo trials) upon presentation of unpleasant stimuli. Our findings suggest that reduced HRV is a potential indicator of defective inhibitory control in an emotional context in PIU.

Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors: Convergent, Discriminant and Predictive Validity of Self-Report and Cognitive Measures.

Self-report and cognitive tasks of reward sensitivity and self-regulation have influenced several developmental models that may explain the heightened engagement in risk behaviors during adolescence. Despite some inconsistencies across studies, few studies have explored the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of self-report and cognitive measures of these psychological characteristics in adolescence. The present study evaluated the convergent and discriminant validity of self-report and cognitive measures of reward sensitivity and self-regulation among 2017 adolescents (age M = 16.8, SD = 1.1; 56% female; 55% White, 22% Black, 8% Hispanic, 15% other race/ethnic; 49% 10th grade and 51% 12th grade). This study compared the predictive validity of an omnibus measure and specific measures of risk engagement. Convergent and discriminant validity from self-report to cognitive tasks were as predicted, although with weak convergent relationships. As hypothesized, compared to cognitive tasks, self-report measures consistently predicted risky behaviors and explained more variance in the models. These results demonstrate that while cognitive tasks can significantly predict certain risk behaviors, they require increased power to find the very small effects, raising questions about their use as implicit proxies for real world risk behavior.

Children's behavioral self-regulation and conscience: Roles of child temperament, parenting, and parenting context

This study examined longitudinal, temperament-specific relations between parenting qualities in two interactive contexts and behavioral measures of child self-regulation and conscience. Mother-toddler interactions were observed for maternal gentle control and mutual positivity and responsiveness (MPR) when children were 18 months old (sample N = 134, 53% male, 92% non-Hispanic White). Child temperament was also assessed, yielding exuberant, inhibited, and average-approach temperament groups. Children's behavioral self-regulation and conscience were assessed at 4.5 years of age. Mother gentle control in a free play related to poorer later behavioral self-regulation for children in the average-approach group, whereas gentle control in a clean-up related to better behavioral self-regulation in the exuberant group. MPR during the clean-up related to better conscience in the inhibited group. These results provide further support for temperament- and context-specific relations between different parenting qualities and children's later regulatory skills, which may inform the development of more effective temperament-based parenting interventions.

Why High School Grades Are Better Predictors of On-Time College Graduation Than Are Admissions Test Scores: The Roles of Self-Regulation and Cognitive Ability

Compared with admissions test scores, why are high school grades better at predicting college graduation? We argue that success in college requires not only cognitive ability but also self-regulatory competencies that are better indexed by high school grades. In a national sample of 47,303 students who applied to college for the 2009/2010 academic year, Study 1 affirmed that high school grades out-predicted test scores for 4-year college graduation. In a convenience sample of 1,622 high school seniors in the Class of 2013, Study 2 revealed that the incremental predictive validity of high school grades for college graduation was explained by composite measures of self-regulation, whereas the incremental predictive validity of test scores was explained by composite measures of cognitive ability.

Psychological well-being in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: Risk and protective factors.

Much research on military veterans has focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other negative outcomes, with few studies of positive outcomes. This study focused on psychological well-being (PWB) in relation to PTSD symptoms and the additional risk factors of sleep problems and depression, as well as a protective factor, self-regulation. Two hundred thirty-eight student veterans completed questionnaires online, with 115 completing follow-up questionnaires 2 months later. Path analyses revealed significant associations of PWB with depression and self-regulation in expected directions within and across time points. Links of overall PWB with PTSD and sleep were mostly small and nonsignificant, but some differences were found for distinct domains of PWB. Finally, a significant interaction revealed that the negative association of baseline PTSD with 2-month PWB grew stronger as levels of self-regulation increased. This finding may indicate that higher scores on our measure of self-regulation reflected emotional overcontrol and rigidity, but further research that attempts to replicate these findings is needed. Overall, findings support the need for examining a broader set of risk and protective factors predictive of outcomes in veterans who served during the recent era of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).