John Hagen's current work is concerned with cognition as well as motivation in students at several levels from preschool and elementary to high school and college age. Research from the SEARCH institute on positive development in youth provides one of the bases for our current projects. Several different populations are included, i.e. university students, students with learning difficulties, and varsity student athletes.

Another research program includes cognitive development from the preschool age through adolescence. Attention, memory, and intellective functioning are studied, especially as they relate to academic performance and other behavioral aspects in children with chronic illnesses or learning problems. Predictors have been identified in children with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, including age of onset, and it is clear that at least some of the sequelae of the disease are related to changes in control or voluntary processes. Likewise, in studies of students with learning disabilities and other achievement problems, findings have been similar, supporting control processes as key in areas of memory, attention, and academic achievement.

Another program of research concerns analyses of the content of the journals published by the Society for Research in Child Development. Initial studies began in 1930 and mapped trends until 1991. Current research is focused on the decade of the 90's through 2007. The findings have been presented at several professional meetings and will be summarized in a forthcoming chapter.