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Accepted manuscript

The use of neuropsychological tasks to evaluate self-regulation in depression and anxiety during adolescence: a scoping review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2026

Georgia Eleftheriou Open the ORCID record for Georgia Eleftheriou [Opens in a new window] ,
Mohammadamin Sinichi ,
Martin Gevonden ,
Lydia Krabbendam ,
Crick Lund ,
Mark J. D. Jordans  and
Brandon A. Kohrt
Georgia Eleftheriou*
Affiliation:
Center for Global Mental Health Equity, Department of Psychiatry, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
Mohammadamin Sinichi
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Martin Gevonden
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lydia Krabbendam
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Crick Lund
Affiliation:
Centre for Global Mental Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, King’s College London, London, UK; Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Mark J. D. Jordans
Affiliation:
Centre for Global Mental Health, Health Service and Population Research Department, King’s College London, London, UK; War Child, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Brandon A. Kohrt
Affiliation:
Center for Global Mental Health Equity, Department of Psychiatry, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Georgia Eleftheriou; Email: geleftheriou@gwu.edu
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Abstract

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Background:

Self-regulation is central to adolescent emotional and cognitive development and deficits in self-regulation may associate with depression and anxiety. This scoping review maps the use of the Emotional Go/No-Go (EGNG), Delay Discounting Task (DDT), and Balloon Analogue Risk Task and Youth version (BART) in studies of adolescent depression and anxiety, examines consistency of task implementation, and identifies methodological and geographic gaps.

Methods:

A PRISMA-ScR–compliant search was conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and PsycINFO from database inception to 15 December 2025 (initial search: 1 December 2023; updated: 15 December 2025). Data were charted using a standardized form. Eligible studies included adolescents, employed EGNG, DDT, or BART, and assessed depressive or anxiety symptoms.

Results:

Thirty reports were included (EGNG n = 21; DDT n = 3; BART n = 6). Twenty-six studies (87%) were conducted in high-income countries and 24 (80%) were English language. Twenty-two studies were cross-sectional (EGNG n = 18/21; DDT n = 2/3; BART n = 2/6); five employed longitudinal designs, and two employed experimental manipulations. Fourteen studies (47%) reported significant task performance associations with depression or anxiety (EGNG n = 8/21; DDT n = 2/3; BART n = 4/6); remaining studies reported no significant associations. The directionality of associations differed across study populations and methodologies.

Conclusion:

The current literature is concentrated in English-speaking higher-income contexts and has yielded few and inconsistent associations with adolescent depression and anxiety. Future research should harmonize protocols, expand evidence from low- and middle-income settings, and increase longitudinal and intervention-based studies to assess sensitivity to change and clinical utility.

Keywords

adolescent depressionadolescent anxietyself-regulationEmotional Go/No-GoDelay DiscountingBalloon Analogue risk taskscoping review

Information

Type
Review Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 35
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology