Improving Children’s Self-Regulation Through Universal and Targeted Psychosocial Interventions: Meta-Analytic Review of South Korean Studies

Self-regulation is a prominent target of psychosocial interventions for both the prevention and the treatment of children’s mental health issues, as self-regulation in childhood can predict significant outcomes in later life such as academic success and health. This study aimed to verify the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in improving the self-regulation of South Korean children aged 3–18 years and confirm the significant moderators by considering intervention level, intervention type, setting, and structural and participants’ characteristics. Thirty-five studies reporting on experimental and quasi-experimental trials were included in the analysis; they showed a moderate overall effect size and considerable heterogeneity. We found that intervention level, use of social skills interventions, and setting moderated self-regulation, while using explicit skills instruction was effective but not a significant moderator. Of the five continuous variables examined, only group size showed a significant but marginal positive correlation with the effect size. The results highlight the importance of applying preventative and targeted self-regulation interventions for children by focusing on the social aspects of self-regulation and the potential of school settings. This is the first meta-analytic review to verify the moderating effects of the methods used in self-regulation interventions, including explicit skills instruction and social skills interventions. The results can help build evidence bases for self-regulation interventions for children in South Korea and potentially worldwide. This study has several implications for future studies.