The role of parenting and goal selection in positive youth development: A person-centered approach q Christopher M. Napolitano a, * , Edmond P. Bowers a , Steinunn Gestsdottir b , Miriam Depping c , Alexander von Eye d , Paul Chase a , Jacqueline V. Lerner e a Tufts University, United States b University of Iceland, Iceland c University of Zurich, Switzerland d Michigan State University, United States e Boston College, United States Keywords: Adolescence Positive youth development Parenting Self regulation Person-centered approach abstract Using a person-centered approach, we examined the relations between goal selection, various indicators of parenting, and positive development among 510 Grades 9 to 11 participants (68% female) in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), a longi- tudinal study involving U.S. adolescents. Goal selection was operationalized by the "Selection" (S) subscale of the Selection, Optimization, and Compensation intentional self- regulation measure. Using Configural Frequency Analysis, we assessed the association between Selection, parenting (warmth, monitoring, and school involvement), and PYD. Results indicated that, while having the combination of consistently high Selection and above-median levels of the parenting variables was the most common path to PYD, having consistently low levels of Selection across grades was also related to positive development at Grade 11, regardless of parenting factors. We interpret these findings based in relation to the PYD and the identity development literatures and discuss implications for applied programs. Ó 2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contemporary relational, developmental systems theory stresses that human development involves mutually influential relations between the developing person and the complex, changing contexts of his or her ecology (Lerner, 2006; Overton, 2010) represented as person )/ context relations. When these relations are mutually beneficial to the individual and the context, they are termed adaptive developmental regulations (Brandtstädter,1998). To develop such relations, individuals must select and pursue long-term goals through intentional self-regulation (ISR) behaviors (Baltes, 1997), defined here as the individual’s chosen, organized actions-in-context that further self-defined, valued goals or purposes. At different points in the life span, different types of ISR behaviors are typically required to achieve these adaptive developmental regulations (e.g., Baltes, Lindenberger & Staudinger, 2006; Heckhausen, Wrosch, & Schulz, 2010; Nurmi, 2004). For example, an effective use of ISR for an elderly individual may serve to minimize losses as certain capabilities diminish, while a younger person may use his or her ISR primarily to maximize gains (Baltes, 1997). In turn, an individual’s context also influences which types of ISR behaviors lead to adaptive developmental regulations. For instance, adolescents from lower human-resource neighborhoods q This research was supported in part by grants from the National 4-H Council and the Thrive Foundation for Youth. * Corresponding author. Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University, 301 Lincoln Filene Building, Medford, MA 01255, United States. Tel.: þ1 617 627 5558. E-mail address: Christopher.Napolitano@tufts.edu (C.M. Napolitano). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Adolescence journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jado 0140-1971/$ – see front matter Ó 2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.07.008 Journal of Adolescence 34 (2011) 1137–1149