TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive control moderates the health benefits of trait self-regulation in young adults
AU - Hakun, Jonathan G.
AU - Findeison, Margaret A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under award number K99AG056670 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of these granting agencies.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - Separate lines of epidemiological research suggest that individuals with high trait self-regulation (e.g. conscientious individuals) and individuals with higher cognitive ability (e.g. executive control/intelligence) each tend to enjoy superior health and well-being outcomes. However, it remains largely unexplored whether these personological and cognitive contributions to physical health are shared, independent, or interdependent. In the current study, we examined associations between trait self-regulation, cognitive control, self-reported physical health, and subjective well-being. A domain-general model revealed little shared variance between trait self-regulation and cognitive control but revealed significant unique relationships between each predictor and physical health. Results of a latent moderation analysis suggested that cognitive control moderated the contribution of self-regulation to health but not subjective well-being. This moderation effect was characterized by a strengthened relationship between trait self-regulation and health with decreases in cognitive control. Together, our results suggest that self-regulation and cognitive control may independently contribute to health outcomes in young adults and that self-regulation may be increasingly important for individuals lower in cognitive control.
AB - Separate lines of epidemiological research suggest that individuals with high trait self-regulation (e.g. conscientious individuals) and individuals with higher cognitive ability (e.g. executive control/intelligence) each tend to enjoy superior health and well-being outcomes. However, it remains largely unexplored whether these personological and cognitive contributions to physical health are shared, independent, or interdependent. In the current study, we examined associations between trait self-regulation, cognitive control, self-reported physical health, and subjective well-being. A domain-general model revealed little shared variance between trait self-regulation and cognitive control but revealed significant unique relationships between each predictor and physical health. Results of a latent moderation analysis suggested that cognitive control moderated the contribution of self-regulation to health but not subjective well-being. This moderation effect was characterized by a strengthened relationship between trait self-regulation and health with decreases in cognitive control. Together, our results suggest that self-regulation and cognitive control may independently contribute to health outcomes in young adults and that self-regulation may be increasingly important for individuals lower in cognitive control.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109572
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109572
M3 - Article
C2 - 32863502
AN - SCOPUS:85071500179
SN - 0191-8869
VL - 152
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
M1 - 109572
ER -