The importance of self-regulation for children's morale. Relationships between executive functions, emotion regulation, temperament and morality

Theoretical background: There is an ongoing discussion in both society and research regarding the significance of morality for the development and behavior of children and adolescents. Children need to be able to prioritize the needs of others over their own to make moral judgments and decisions in everyday life or moral conflict situations. The debate concerns the role of self-regulatory abilities in moral conflict situations, particularly during middle childhood, a crucial period for social-emotional development, when the foundation for moral understanding and internalization of moral values is laid. However, the role of self-regulation in morality remains unresolved. Research question: This article explores and analyzes the relationships between various aspects of self-regulation (temperament-related self-regulation, executive functions, and emotion regulation) and morality (moral self and judgment) in children in middle childhood. The objective is to apply an integrative model to identify which aspect of self-regulation exhibits the strongest associations with children's morality. The study contributes to a better understanding of the complex relationships between self-regulation and morality. Method: This cross-sectional study utilized a sample of 348 children aged 5 to 11 years and their caregivers. It employs various measures to assess self-regulatory aspects (executive functions, temperament, and emotion regulation) and moral variables (moral self and moral judgment). We then analyzed the data using structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between self-regulation and morality, while controlling for gender and age. Results: The structural equation model demonstrated an adequate fit, explaining 44 % of the variance in morality. Emotion regulation exhibited the strongest effect on morality, followed by impulsivity, working memory (cold self-regulation/executive function), and inhibition control (cold self-regulation/executive function). Risky decision-making (hot self-regulation/executive function) was not significantly associated with morality. Gender and age also affected various self-regulatory and moral variables. Discussion and conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of emotional competence in moral development and underline the potential of fostering emotion-regulation skills in promoting moral development. The implications for practice are significant, as promoting self-regulation, particularly emotion regulation, could support children's moral development, ultimately leading to positive social impact. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the interplay between self-regulation and morality and underscores the need for further research.