Self-Regulation and Ego Depletion in Children: Development, Consequences of Self-Regulation and Limited Resource Model

Effective self-regulation is crucial for positive outcomes in many areas of life including school success, quality social relationships, psychological and physical health. However, capacity of self-regulation is not unlimited. Sequential self-control activities can lead to self-regulation failures. According to the limited strength model, self-regulation activities are based on a limited source and this resource may be temporarily depleted. This situation, which is called ego depletion according to the theory, is the cause of self-control failures. In this review study, self-regulation and limited strength model were addressed from a developmental perspective. The literature on the development of self-regulation, self-regulation failures in children, and the improvement of self-regulation skills has been reviewed. In addition, debates on the limited strength model were mentioned and a perspective for future studies is presented.