The Role of Self-Control in Academic Performance in the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood

Abstract

Although there is a considerable amount of evidence that self-control has an important impact on academic achievement, little is known about the role played by its different components in that process. This issue is the main goal of the present work. The data come from a longitudinal study in which several hundred participants were followed up from primary school until their late twenties. Self-report measures were used to assess self-control in adolescence and educational attainment in adulthood, whereas information regarding sociodemographic variables and possible learning difficulties were collected from teachers in elementary school. Results revealed a modest but significant effect of self-control in all measures of academic achievement, even when the confounding variables were statistically controlled for. However, only some components of that construct had a consistent impact in academic achievement: preference for simple tasks, preference for physical activities and, to a lesser extent, impulsivity. It would be interesting to assess in future studies if similar effects are found when other criteria are used to define academic achievement, and whether those three dimensions of low self-control provide a secure basis to develop new intervention strategies aimed at improving young adults’ educational level.