The Effect of Pubertal Status on Self-Regulation of Behavior and Executive Functions-A Systematic Review.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review of observational developmental studies (by design analogy, not clinical CEBM)
PubMed 40790997 · doi:10.1002/dev.70069
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review searching PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO to evaluate the relationship between pubertal status and behavioral self-regulation or executive functions (including hot emotional regulation and cool executive functions), specifically examining whether pubertal status determines maturation independently of chronological age.
What was found
The search retrieved 125 studies on pubertal status and self-regulation/executive functions. Only 28 of these studies adjusted for the confounding effects of age. The abstract reports no numerical data, but notes that these 28 studies were methodologically heterogeneous, contained conceptual and methodological shortcomings, and yielded mixed results with no clear patterns, leaving current evidence inconclusive.
Why it matters
This review highlights that existing evidence does not substantiate whether pubertal development independently influences cognitive and behavioral self-regulation once age is accounted for. It cautions against assuming biological pubertal effects in theoretical models of adolescent brain maturation without rigorous age-adjusted empirical data.
Limits
Fewer than a quarter of the identified studies controlled for chronological age. The included studies exhibited substantial methodological heterogeneity and flaws, and no quantitative meta-analysis or pooled effect size was reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- partial Executive cognitive functions such as attention shifting and updating are more strongly related to chronological age, whereas risk sensitivity, peer-oriented learning, and certain emotional responses are more strongly tied to pubertal development.