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. This includes the abilities known as hot and cool executive functions (EF), like controlled attention, behavioral inhibition, and emotional regulation. Such abilities mature during adolescence, a period marked by developmental brain changes due to learning/experience as individuals grow older, and by changes in sex hormone levels due to puberty, which influence brain maturation and can affect cognition. However, it is unclear to what extent the maturation of SR/EF is determined by adolescents’ stage of pubertal development – that is, their pubertal status – irrespective of their age. To clarify this issue, we performed a systematic review of the literature. We found 124 studies about the relationship between pubertal status and SR/EF, but only 28 of these included results about pubertal status adjusted for the confounding effects of age. These studies were heterogeneous in their methods and reported mixed results with no clear patterns. The literature was also fraught with conceptual and methodological shortcomings. As a result, current evidence is inconclusive about pubertal status effects on SR/EF. We discuss the implications of these findings for current theories of adolescent cognitive development.