Haley Fell
Project: Evaluating the relationship between self-regulation skills and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms
“This project has been an invaluable opportunity to deepen my research skills while exploring a topic that is closely connected to both my academic interests and future career as a child psychologist… It has also reinforced my commitment to understanding how self-regulation influences children’s development and behaviour, and I feel hopeful for how these results can inform education and clinical practice, improving support for children and families.”
Summary: Researchers have observed a dramatic global decline in children’s self-regulation skills — their ability to control emotions, behaviours and focus. This trend has made classrooms more challenging to manage, which some reports say contributed to the recent teacher strike in Alberta.
Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neurodevelopmental disorder, often struggle with self-regulation, particularly as they move into middle childhood. While we know ADHD is linked to lower self-regulation, it’s still unclear how the different types of regulation relate to the impulsive and hyperactive behaviours seen in ADHD. These types are:
- Emotional regulation: Managing and monitoring one’s feelings
- Behavioural regulation: Adjusting actions to meet goals and situational needs
- Cognitive regulation: Controlling mental processes, such as the ability to pay attention
To address this gap, I will conduct a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies that measure ADHD symptoms and self-regulation skills in children aged six to 12. This review will address two questions: How do the different types of self-regulation relate to impulsive and hyperactive ADHD symptoms in middle childhood, and do these associations differ by gender? By clarifying these connections, this research will help inform clinical and school interventions. I am also supporting a pilot study by my supervisor’s lab to investigate how children's self-regulation relates to ADHD.
Haley Fell was supervised by Dr. Wendy Hoglund in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts. Her WCHRI summer studentship was funded by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. She recently completed a bachelor of science degree in Honors psychology at the University of Alberta.
Read more about WCHRI’s training awards for students at all levels and generous grants for researchers. See the rest of the 2026 summer studentship recipients here.
