Self-Regulation Across Adolescence: Exploring the Structure of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation

Abstract

Intentional self-regulation (ISR) is thought to undergo significant development during the second decade of life, but our understanding of ISR's development during this period remains incomplete. We discuss the development of ISR as operationalized by Freund & Baltes's (2002) measure of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC). We use data from 5,471 youth that had participated in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development in Grades 5 through 12. Using exploratory factor analyses, our findings suggest that the SOC questionnaire adheres to a stable three-factor structure across adolescence, with factors representing selection, intentional self-regulation, and a reverse-coded method factor. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research.