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The Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory: The Development and Validation of a Questionnaire of Short-Term and Long-Term Self-Regulation

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Abstract

This manuscript presents a study in which the factor structure and validity of the Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI) were examined. The ASRI is a theoretically-based questionnaire that taps two temporal aspects of self-regulation (regulation in the short- and long-term). 169 students in the 6th, 8th, and 10th grades of a small, Midwestern school district completed self-report questionnaires focused on self-regulation, parenting behaviors, and psychological adjustment. 80 parents also participated. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the internal consistency of the long-term and short-term factors was satisfactory. Requirements for concurrent and construct validity were met. The ASRI also demonstrated incremental validity, as the inclusion of the long-term factor with a comparison questionnaire significantly increased the proportion of explained variance in adolescent-reported parental warmth, externalizing, and prosocial behavior. The ASRI has the potential to move research on self-regulation in adolescence in a viable new direction.

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Acknowledgments

This research was conducted while the author was a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and was funded by a grant to M. Raffaelli and L. J. Crockett from the National Institutes of Mental Health (R01-MH62977). Research assistance was provided by Matthew Maguire, Megan Milligan, and Lisa Palmer. Many thanks to Daniel S. Shaw and Emily Trentacosta for their comments on this manuscript, and to Scott Novak for sharing his self-regulation questionnaire.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 210 South Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA

    Kristin L. Moilanen

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  1. Kristin L. Moilanen
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Correspondence to Kristin L. Moilanen.

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Research interests: self-regulation, social relationships, adolescent sexuality and psychological adjustment.

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Moilanen, K.L. The Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory: The Development and Validation of a Questionnaire of Short-Term and Long-Term Self-Regulation. J Youth Adolescence 36, 835–848 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9107-9

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