Differential growth trajectories of behavioral self-regulation from early childhood to adolescence: Implication for youth domain-general and school-specific outcomes

The current study examined the developmental trajectories of behavioral self-regulation from early childhood to adolescence and linked them to adolescent domain-general (i.e., positive functioning and delinquent behavior) and school-specific (i.e., school connectedness and peer victimization) outcomes. Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4009), Growth Mixture Models identified four behavioral self-regulation trajectory classes: early developer (n = 2096, 52.3%), moderate stable (n = 1500, 37.4%), lagged developer (n = 212, 5.2%), and regressor (n = 201, 5%). Child and family characteristics were used to distinguish these four trajectories. The early developer trajectory had the strongest protective effect on adolescent outcomes, showing the highest levels of positive functioning and school connectedness and the lowest levels of delinquent behavior and peer victimization. Conversely, the regressor trajectory was linked with highest risky adolescent outcomes. The findings underscore the importance of implementing targeted intervention programs that promote behavioral self-regulation during middle childhood.