Seven Key Principles of Self-Regulation and Self-Regulation in Context

(2017, February) | Useful to Parent Centers and others working with children and adolescents to cultivate their skills of self-regulation.

Self-regulation refers to one’s ability to manage emotions and impulses. This 3-page brief discusses how self-regulation develops over time from birth through young adulthood and  then highlights 7 key principles that summarize a framework for understanding how self-regulation develops. The 7 principles are:

1. 1. Self-regulation serves as the foundation for lifelong functioning.
   2. Self-regulation is the act of managing cognition and emotion.
   3. A combination of individual and external factors influence self-regulation.
   4. Teachers, providers, caregivers, and parents can teach and strengthen self-regulation.
   5. Self-regulation is dependent on “co-regulation” provided by parents or other caregiving adults.
   6. Prolonged or pronounced stress and adversity, including poverty and trauma experiences, can disrupt self-regulation.
   7. Self-regulation develops over an extended period from birth through young adulthood.

Access to Self-Regulation Brief at:
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/seven-key-principles-self-regulation-and-self-regulation-context

Also see the companion 6-page brief in this series from the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Promoting Self-Regulation in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Practice Brief
(PDF, 328 kb)
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/promoting-self-regulation-adolescents-and-young-adults-practice-brief

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