Introduction
This report examines the link between measures of self-regulation skills and longer-term outcomes among adults with low incomes. To do so, we draw on the conceptualization of self-regulation skills from the Goal-Oriented Adult Learning in Self-Sufficiency (GOALS) project, sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and use data from the Evaluation of Employment Coaching for TANF and Related Populations, an OPRE-sponsored impact and implementation study of four employment coaching programs aimed at improving employment and economic outcomes for low-income populations. Using these data, we examine the predictive power of self-regulation measures by examining their link to future outcomes such as earnings and employment one year later.
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to examine how measures of self-regulation skills relate to future outcomes. The results can inform researchers who work with employment programs on how to promote self-regulation skills or who plan to use measures of self-regulation skills in evaluations of employment programs. The report provides evidence on (1) how individual self-regulation measures relate to longer-term outcomes; (2) how using multiple self-regulation measures predicts longer-term outcomes compared to using individual measures; and (3) the extent to which using self-regulation measures can improve the prediction of longer-term outcomes above and beyond using only sociodemographic characteristics.
Key Findings and Highlights
This report found that:
- The self-regulation measures included in the Employment Coaching study were positively related to future self-regulation and economic outcomes, with different self-regulation measures serving as the best predictor for different outcomes.
- When predicting future employment and economic outcomes, using multiple self-regulation measures added little predictive power over using a single self-regulation measure among the self-regulation measures we considered.
- When predicting future self-regulation outcomes and some employment and economic outcomes (such as education and training program participation), including self-regulation measures as predictors added predictive power beyond using only sociodemographic characteristics as predictors. For other employment and economic outcomes, self-regulation measures did not improve the ability to predict the outcomes beyond using only sociodemographic characteristics as predictors.
Methods
The report used measures of selected self-regulation skills (self-esteem; emotional control and self-monitoring; employment self-regulation; goal-setting and attainment; and task monitoring, planning, and initiation) to conduct:
- A correlational analysis that examined the relationship between the measures of self-regulation skills and later outcomes
- A multivariate regression analysis that examined the extent to which using multiple measures of self-regulation skills better predicted outcomes compared to using individual measures of self-regulation skills as predictors
- A multivariate regression analysis that examined the extent to which using self-regulation skills and sociodemographic characteristics better predicted outcomes compared to using only sociodemographic variables
Citation
Tim Kautz and Julius Anastasio. The Predictive Power of Measures of Self-Regulation Skills Among Adults with Low Incomes. OPRE Report #2024-008. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.