The link between adolescents’ self-regulation skills and creativity: the mediation of critical thinking

Creativity and critical thinking skills are two important skills for the adolescence process. There are factors that affect creativity and critical thinking. One of these is self-regulation. In this context, in this study, the relationships between adolescents’ self-regulation skills, creativity and critical thinking were examined through structural equation model (SEM) analysis. The study was conducted cross-sectionally, and the sample consisted of 425 adolescent individuals. The study revealed that self-regulation positively affects critical thinking and creativity, and that critical thinking positively affects creativity. Moreover, critical thinking was found to be a full mediator in the relationship between self-regulation and creativity. As a result of the study, it can be concluded that developing adolescents’ self-regulation skills makes significant contributions to their critical thinking and creativity, and that developing their critical thinking has a positive effect on their creativity.