The structure of self-regulation in different populations

What is it about?

This article looked at how the construct of self-regulation is structured at different levels, and in different groups. It compares between a group of men and women in the general population, as well as a group of male forensic psychiatric patients. The study found that although there are some differences between the three groups, there is a behavioral, emotional and cognitive element in each of them. This indicates that, although there might be differences between groups in what each of these things means, a good measure of self-regulation should contain at least some elements of these three elements.

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Why is it important?

This study shows the importance of having representation of emotional, behavioral and cognitive elements of self-regulation when measuring it, in order to get a complete picture. At the moment this is not always the case, and some measures are focused more on for example behavioral parts. It could be important for clinical practice to make a distinction, and future research should look into whether or not problems with these three elements have different outcomes.