Locomotion as a self-regulatory moderator of educational pathways and health-risk behavior in youth

Educational pathways are associated with educational attainment and health-risk behavior in young adulthood, but less is known about the role of self-regulation in these associations. Using nationally representative data from 36,517 young adults aged 18-25, this study examined associations among parental education, educational disruptions, educational attainment, health-risk behavior, and locomotion, an action-oriented regulatory mode. Higher parental education was associated with higher educational attainment (β = .24, p < .001) and lower health-risk behavior (β = −.07, p = .042), whereas greater educational disruptions were associated with lower educational attainment (β = −.21, p < .001) and higher health-risk behavior (β = .08, p = .016). Locomotion moderated the positive association between parental education and educational attainment (ΔR2 = .002, p = .038) and between educational disruptions and health-risk behavior (ΔR2 = .024, p = .038). Overall, findings indicate that locomotion may represent a context-sensitive self-regulatory characteristic associated with adaptive outcomes.