Trait self-control and health behavior: Meta-analysis and test of a mediational model

Pervasive evidence supports consistent associations between trait self-control and health behavior, yet few studies have tested the underlying mechanisms. We leveraged meta-analytically synthesized data from the extant research to test a mediational model specifying indirect effects of trait self-control on health behavior mediated by social cognition theory constructs and intention as a candidate mechanism. We also tested the effects of moderators on model effects: behavior control process (impulsive vs. reflective), behavior type, trait self-control and behavior measure type, and measurement lag.

Studies reporting relations among trait self-control, social cognition constructs (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control), intention, and health behavior were identified in a systematic database search. Our proposed model was fit to the pooled correlation matrix among these variables using multilevel meta-analytic structural equation modeling.

Findings supported model predictions including indirect effects of trait self-control on health behavior directed through attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intentions, and a residual direct effect indicating partial mediation. Moderator analysis revealed larger direct and indirect trait self-control-health behavior effects in studies targeting behaviors under impulsive process control relative to those under reflective control. Analyses of behavior type, behavior and self-control measure type, and measurement lag moderators did not reveal systematic variation in model effects.

Findings provide preliminary support for the model signaling a candidate mechanism for trait self-control-health behavior relations and providing prior effect size and variability estimates that could be expected in future studies. Impulse-related behaviors represent a key moderating condition that magnifies trait self-control-behavior effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).