Executive functioning as a moderator of flossing behaviour among young adults: a temporal self-regulation theory perspective

BACKGROUND: Flossing among young adults is often infrequent and barriers not completely understood. One explanation concerns the capacity for executive functioning (EF) during the self-regulation of behaviour. METHODS: Using Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (TST) as a framework to explore EF, young adults from Norwegian universities completed a survey that measured monthly flossing frequency, flossing-related intentions and behavioural prepotency (BP), and EF using the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Adult Version (BRIEF-A). RESULTS: Data from 362 participants were analysed. The TST-model explained a substantial proportion of variance in monthly flossing (R(2) = 0.74), and flossing was associated directly with intention and BP, and interactions between intention and both BP and global-EF. Sub-domains of EF were explored using the same model, revealing that behavioural regulation processes, specifically those related to emotional control and shifting between tasks, offered better fit. Simple slopes revealed that moderation effects were only present at lower levels of BP. CONCLUSION: EF plays a role in moderating the translation of intentions into flossing behaviour. Specifically, emotional control and task-shifting appear to be influential, and this influence increases when habitual and environmental support (i.e. BP) is reduced. Overcoming EF-barriers may represent a key step in establishing flossing behaviours.