Modeling the Interrelationship of Learned Resourcefulness, Self-Management, and Affective Symptomatology Peter G. Mezo & Sarah E. Francis Published online: 27 November 2011 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract Self-regulatory skills models are important ex- planatory constructs for many societal applications. How- ever, little research exists on the relative influence of different self-regulatory skills models for specific applica- tions, with all relevant constructs considered simultaneous- ly. This study evaluated the contributions of the self- regulatory models of learned resourcefulness and self- management to the outcome variable of affective symp- tomatology. Specifically, structural equation modeling was used to test whether learned resourcefulness accounts for additional variance in affective symptomatology when taking self-management into consideration. Results indicat- ed that both learned resourcefulness and self-management accounted for a large proportion of variance in affective symptomatology, and the model in which the path between learned resourcefulness and affective symptomatology was constrained to zero provided the best fit of the data, tentatively suggesting that learned resourcefulness did not seem to add much value in terms of predicting affective symptomatology when in the presence of self-management. Implications for self-regulatory skills theory and models are discussed. Keywords Self-regulation . Learned resourcefulness . Self- management . Self-control . Anxiety . Depression Models of self-regulated coping have emerged as important theories at the intersection of behavioral, cognitive, and personality psychology (see Boekaerts et al. 2005; Baumeister and Vohs 2004). Indeed, the development and refinement of self-regulatory skills models have promoted and guided diverse research programs that have contributed to the advancement of the cognitive and behavioral sciences (Carver and Scheier 1999). Not only have self-regulatory skills models enhanced our understanding of theory, but they have also been used in numerous and wide-ranging societal applications, such as psychological treatments (Febbraro and Clum 1998; Rokke and Rehm 2001), organizational behavior (Locke and Latham 2002), exercise behavior (Kennett et al. 2009b), and resiliency training (Dunning 1999). The broad importance and influence of self-regulatory skills models justify closer evaluations of their specific interrelationships and their potential differential contributions to delineated outcomes. This study will address the interrelationship of two influential models of self-regulatory skills as they relate to affective symptomatology: self-management (Kanfer 1970; Rehm 1977) and learned resourcefulness (Rosenbaum 1990). Self-management, which has also been referred to as self-control, is a process model of the self-regulation of thoughts, actions, and affect. The three component process- es of self-management are self-monitoring, self-evaluating, and self-reinforcing, and these processes are applied sequentially and repeatedly to promote progress towards targeted thoughts, actions, or affect (Kanfer and Karoly 1972). Hence, a socially anxious individual who has set a public speaking engagement as an action target could self- monitor her anxiety and her reactions to it, self-evaluate whether she is meeting her standard for public speaking, and self-reinforce approximations to her target action by engaging in an encouraging thought. The effective applica- tion of self-management will, over time and across public speaking situations, help her become less anxious as a public speaker and hence contribute to a reduction in her social anxiety (Kanfer and Schefft 1988). P. G. Mezo (*) : S. E. Francis Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’ s, NL, Canada A1B 3X9 e-mail: mezo@mun.ca J Psychopathol Behav Assess (2012) 34:11–21 DOI 10.1007/s10862-011-9264-3