FOR 5034:  Self-regulation as a ressource in coping with developmental demands - a prospective analysis form middle childhood to adolescence

• Subject Area: Social and Behavioural Sciences
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 426314138

Self-regulation (SR) is a fundamental psychological resource that permits individuals to adequately respond to situational requirements and successfully pursue personal goals. Accordingly, SR is associated with a wide range of positive developmental outcomes. To date, research on SR has focused primarily on (pre)school-aged children, whereas research about the development of SR and its meaning for adolescence and emerging adulthood (EA) is limited. However, studying the development of SR is particularly relevant during these developmental stages, as external control (e.g., by parents) gradually diminishes during adolescence and is replaced by self-dependent regulation of behavior, emotion, and thoughts. Furthermore, during EA, individuals face specific challenges that require the use of SR-skills. These challenges may include romantic relationships, life planning, and the realisation of these plans. The planned Research Unit, therefore, aims to explore (dis-)continuities of SR development and identify predictors of SR development trajectories. Their development and stability are longitudinally examined, and the impact of SR on several behavioral aspects is studied. The projects cover a broad range of behavioral areas and developmental requirements that are new or particularly relevant to this developmental stage, such as sexual aggressions or clinical manifestations of binge eating. The broad expertise within our Research Unit permits us to investigate a large number of youth-specific outcomes as well as to adopt a multi-method approach when assessing cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of SR. The project uses physiological measurements (heart rate variability), behavioral tests, as well as self-reports (questionnaires). The PIER survey is complemented by two experience samples to analyse the role of SR in everyday life.The individual projects draw on one prospective data set; in combination with the expertise of the PIs, this provides fertile ground for synergistic effects. Thus, the Research Unit is well prepared to generate innovative and multifaceted insights into the development and impacts of SR from childhood to adolescence. Furthermore, valuable insights for prevention and intervention approaches can be generated in a wide range of relevant behavioural domains.

• DFG Programme: Research Units

Projects

• Coordination Funds (Applicant Warschburger, Petra )
• Effects of Self-Regulatory Competences on Prosocial Behavior and Morality-Related Aspects of Personality from Childhood into Emerging Adulthood (Applicant Bondü, Rebecca )
• Executive Functions as basic facets of self regulation: Profiles, developmental trajectories, and relations to social information processing from middle childhood to emerging adulthood (Applicant Elsner, Birgit )
• Prospective longitudinal cohort study from middle childhood to late adolescence/emerging adulthood: The PIER study as a central survey project (Applicant Warschburger, Petra )
• Self-Regulatory Competences as Predictors of (Sexually) Aggressive and Antisocial Behavior from Childhood into Emerging Adulthood (Applicant Bondü, Rebecca )
• The association between self-regulation facets and internalising symptoms in the course from middle childhood to emerging adulthood (Applicant Klein, Annette M. )
• The impact of self-regulation and stigmatization on weight and binge eating/ binge eating disorder in the developmental trajectory from middle childhood to emerging adulthood (Applicant Warschburger, Petra )
• The influence of peers on the development of self-regulation in class-rooms: A longitudinal multilevel-analysis (Applicant Busching, Robert )

• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Petra Warschburger