The ego depletion effect on undergraduate university students: A systematic review

For most, the transition from high school to university marks the simultaneous transition from adolescence into emerging adulthood. Many studies have discussed the degradation of health throughout this time period and identified the increased chance of this cohort engaging in risky or unhealthy behavior. Ego depletion may provide a useful tool for beginning the exploration of this transition and its challenges. This systematic review intends to identify the studies over the last 5 years that have focused on the effect of ego depletion on cognitive and emotional variables with university students. The systematic search resulted in 48 studies from which to draw data and revealed that undergraduate university students are susceptible to the ego depletion effect (92% significant), and that it pervades across wide variety of cognitive and emotional variables such as self-control, prospective memory, and anxiety. These studies could yield suggestions for future planning of advisor–student relationships, peer-to-peer assistance programs, and many other useful avenues for easing the early years of university.