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

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.