The effect of pubertal status on self-regulation of behavior and executive functions – a systematic review

Behavioral self-regulation (SR) refers to a set of abilities that enable flexible, adaptive,and goal-directed behavior, including the abilities known as hot (emotional regulation)and cool (e.g., controlled attention) executive functions (EF). Such abilities matureduring adolescence, a period marked by developmental brain changes due tolearning/experience as individuals grow older, and by changes in sex hormone levelsdue to puberty, which influence brain maturation and can affect cognition. However, itis unclear to what extent the maturation of SR/EF is determined by adolescents’ stage ofpubertal development – that is, their pubertal status – irrespective of their age. Weinvestigate this issue through a systematic review of the literature. Searching PubMed,Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO, we found 125 studies about the relationshipbetween pubertal status and SR/EF. However, only 28 of these included results aboutpubertal status adjusted for the confounding effects of age. These studies wereheterogeneous in their methods and reported mixed results with no clear patterns. Theliterature was also fraught with conceptual and methodological shortcomings. As aresult, current evidence is inconclusive about pubertal status effects on SR/EF. Wediscuss the implications of these findings for current theories of adolescent cognitivedevelopment.