Author's personal copy Developmental trajectories of intentional self regulation in adolescence: The role of parenting and implications for positive and problematic outcomes among diverse youth q Edmond P. Bowers a, * , Steinunn Gestsdottir b , G. John Geldhof c , Jana Nikitin d , Alexander von Eye e , Richard M. Lerner a a Tufts University, United States b University of Iceland, Iceland c University of Kansas, United States d University of Zurich, Switzerland e Michigan State University, United States Keywords: Adolescence Positive youth development Person-centered approach Delinquency Self regulation Contexts abstract This study assessed 1574 Grades 5 to 11 youth (63.6% female) from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), a longitudinal study involving U.S. adolescents, to assess if patterns of intentional self regulation (ISR) existed; whether these trajectories differed in relation to several Grade 5 parenting characteristics; and whether ISR trajec- tories were linked to positive and negative developmental outcomes at Grade 11. Growth mixture modeling identified a four-group solution of ISR trajectories: Steady Decline, Elevated, Late Onset, and Pronounced Decline. Most adolescents reported an incremental decrease in ISR from Grades 5 to 11 (Steady Decline). Lower levels of parental warmth, monitoring, and school involvement at Grade 5 predicted Late-Onset ISR development while Pronounced Decline adolescents reported lower levels of PYD and Contribution at Grade 11. We discuss the finding that youth at initially similar levels of ISR diverged over adolescence, while youth at initially disparate levels converged. Ó 2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Intentional self regulation (ISR), which involves the conscious control of goal-directed thought and action, is a funda- mental process of human functioning that, due to individual and contextual influences, changes greatly and becomes particularly important for healthy functioning during adolescence (e.g., Gestsdóttir & Lerner, 2008). Given the complexity and diversity among contexts, individual characteristics, and the relationships among individuals and contexts, heterogeneity in the patterns of adolescent ISR development (trajectories) are likely to exist; however, most studies on ISR have taken a variable-centered approach to data analysis, and at least have implicitly assumed sample homogeneity (i.e., the assumption that relationships among variables are invariant across the individuals comprising a sample). In addition, although the family has been identified as a key “developmental asset” (Benson, Scales, Hamilton, & Sesma, 2006) in the ecology of youth and, more specifically, parents have been found to be the most important asset in predicting several positive youth outcomes (e.g., Laursen & Collins, 2009; Lewin-Bizan, Bowers, & Lerner, 2010; Theokas & Lerner, 2006), little research has examined the 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, 307 Lincoln-Filene Building, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, United States. Tel.: þ1 617 627 5558. E-mail address: Ed.Bowers@tufts.edu (E.P. Bowers). 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.2011.07.006 Journal of Adolescence 34 (2011) 1193–1206