Instruments to assess self-regulation in children and adolescents: A systematic review

Self-regulation is a multidimensional construct that embraces different developmental aspects from early childhood and has a fundamental role in many of the symptoms of children and youth psychopathology. The need and relevance of its evaluation in all diagnostic processes and clinical interventions is undeniable. Therefore, it is necessary to identify instruments that to assess self-regulation, as well as their use in empirical studies and the population to which they are directed. The present work reviews those empirical articles that have used instruments to measure this concept in children and adolescents. Three databases were reviewed including articles published until May 2018. In total, 50 articles were found involving a total of 37 instruments that measured self-regulation. The studies have been analyzed considering the following variables: frequency of use, characteristics of the participants, characteristics of the instrument and year of publication of the article. The results of the review suggest trends in the use of self-regulation measurement instruments based on the variables studied and contribute to internationally update the knowledge of the use of instruments for self-regulation measurement in children and adolescents. The limitations of the study and future lines of research are also discussed.