Self-regulation as a predictor of developmental trajectories of internalising symptoms in the course of middle childhood to adolescence

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Internalising symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, withdrawal and somatic symptoms are among the most common psychological symptoms in adolescence, are highly stable and are associated with severe impairments for those affected. In the context of the genesis of these symptoms, various facets of self-regulation have come into scientific focus showing that a lower capacity for self-regulation is associated with higher internalising symptoms. However, there are still some research gaps: First, previous studies have often been limited to individual facets of self-regulation. Secondly, the number of studies in adolescence is significantly lower than in childhood. Thirdly, there are no studies that have investigated different facets of self-regulation as predictors of differential trajectories of internalising symptoms. Given the increase in internalising symptoms from childhood to adolescence with the risk of chronification in adulthood, the investigation of various facets of self-regulation as potential predictors of unfavourable trajectories e.g. with increasing or stable high internalising symptoms is highly relevant. In order to fill these research gaps, the present project will build on an already existing longitudinal data set with three measurement points in middle childhood (T1: 6-10, T2: 7-11, T3: 9-13 years) to investigate more than 1000 adolescents aged 15-20 years at a fourth measurement point. A variety of basal (e.g., executive functions, emotional reactivity, heart rate variability) and complex (e.g., emotional regulation, planning behaviour) facets of self-regulation, as well as internalising symptoms (and specific anxiety and depressive symptoms) and already established risk factors of internalising symptoms (e.g., low socioeconomic status,) will be re-examined. It will be analysed 1) to what extent different facets of self-regulation predict unfavourable trajectories of internalising symptoms, 2) whether self-regulation makes an incremental contribution to the prediction of these trajectories even when other risk factors are included, 3) the extent to which self-regulation facets interact with each other and with other risk factors in predicting the course of internalising symptoms, and 4) the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between self-regulation facets and internalising symptoms and their reciprocal relations from middle childhood to adolescence. The findings on the predictive value of specific self-regulation facets can thus provide starting points for prevention and intervention to promote healthy psychosocial development.