Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children
Published on: March 1, 2019
The Effect of Pubertal Status on Self-Regulation of Behavior and Executive Functions-A Systematic Review
Thiago F A França1,2, Isis A Segura1, Natália M Dias3
1Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
None:
Behavioral self-regulation (SR) refers to a set of abilities that enable flexible, adaptive, and goal-directed behavior, including the abilities known as hot (emotional regulation) and cool (e.g., controlled attention) executive functions (EFs). Such abilities mature during adolescence, a period marked by developmental brain changes due to learning/experience as individuals grow older, and by changes in sex hormone levels due to puberty, which influence brain maturation and can affect cognition. However, it is unclear to what extent the maturation of SR/EF is determined by adolescents' stage of pubertal development-that is, their pubertal status-irrespective of their age. We investigate this issue through a systematic review of the literature. Searching PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO, we found 125 studies about the relationship between pubertal status and SR/EF. However, only 28 of these included results about pubertal status adjusted for the confounding effects of age. These studies were heterogeneous in their methods and reported mixed results with no clear patterns. The literature was also fraught with conceptual and methodological shortcomings. As a result, current evidence is inconclusive about pubertal status effects on SR/EF. We discuss the implications of these findings for current theories of adolescent cognitive development.
Related Concept Videos
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings....
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence
Information Processing Approach

