{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T11:11:33Z","timestamp":1789038693623,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behav. Sci.","Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Understanding the relationship between creative self-regulation and adolescent creativity is important for advancing research on creativity development. However, the psychological processes that may account for this association remain insufficiently explored. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between creative self-regulation and self-reported domain-specific creativity among adolescents, with particular attention to the sequential mediating roles of cognitive flexibility and creative self-efficacy. A total of 1204 Chinese adolescents completed the Creative Self-Regulation Questionnaire (CSRQ), the 20-item Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (20-K-DOCS), the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI), and the Creative Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES). The results showed that creative self-regulation was positively associated with self-reported domain-specific creativity, with significant indirect associations through cognitive flexibility and creative self-efficacy. In addition, a significant sequential indirect association was observed through cognitive flexibility and creative self-efficacy. Specifically, higher levels of creative self-regulation were associated with greater cognitive flexibility, which was in turn associated with higher creative self-efficacy and higher self-reported creativity scores. These findings support an integrated cognitive\u2013motivational framework for understanding the interrelationships among creative self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, creative self-efficacy, and self-reported domain-specific creativity among adolescents, while highlighting these constructs as potentially relevant psychological resources in educational contexts. Given the cross-sectional design, these findings should not be interpreted as establishing causal or temporal relationships among the constructs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16091617","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T10:27:21Z","timestamp":1789036041000},"page":"1617","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["How Creative Self-Regulation Is Associated with Adolescent Creativity: The Sequential Mediating Roles of Cognitive Flexibility and Creative Self-Efficacy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Xiaofang","family":"Xu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, No. 393, Binshui West Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin 300387, China"},{"name":"School of Education, Hohhot Minzu College, Hohhot 010051, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Shuo","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, No. 393, Binshui West Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin 300387, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Tao","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, No. 393, Binshui West Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin 300387, China"},{"name":"Disciplinary Inspection Commission Agency, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0181-5060","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hua","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, No. 393, Binshui West Road, Xiqing District, Tianjin 300387, China"},{"name":"Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China"},{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Student Mental Health and Intelligence Assessment, Tianjin 300387, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102448","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lindif.2024.102448","article-title":"Creative development as an agentic process: Five distinct trajectories of divergent thinking originality across early adolescence","volume":"112","author":"Anderson","year":"2024","journal-title":"Learning and Individual Differences"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Bandura, A. 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