Abstract
Character education programs are mission-aligned with the positive youth development (PYD) perspective, which, in research with American youth suggests that intentional self-regulation (ISR) develops through mutually beneficial interactions between youth and their environment. Cross-cultural studies of Western youth suggest an adolescence-specific ISR process may exist. We begin to extend this work to assess the relationship between ISR and positive development in young Scottish adolescents (approximately 7th grade, N = 82; 50% male), a previously unexamined group. ISR was correlated with the Five Cs of PYD and OLS regression analyses demonstrated that ISR predicted two of the Five Cs: Character and Connection. We discuss implications for youth development programs of the findings that ISR and some indices of PYD were linked in a sample of Scottish youth.
Highlights
All civil societies share a common interest in promoting the development of responsible, global citizens (Althof & Berkowitz, 2006)
The Present Study the present study extends previous work to assess the relationship between intentional self regulation (ISR) and positive youth development (PYD) in young Scottish adolescents in their second year of secondary school
Using the international work of Gestsdottir et al (2015) as a guide, the present study focused on the following research question: Among Scottish youth, is ISR associated with PYD?
Summary
All civil societies share a common interest in promoting the development of responsible, global citizens (Althof & Berkowitz, 2006). Programs cultivating character are mission-aligned with positive youth development (PYD), a strengths-based approach to optimizing the potential within all youth for positive developmental outcomes by fostering pro-social experiences between youth, peers and adults in school and community environments (Lerner et al, 2005). Research with American youth suggests that one aspect of individual development influenced by PYD programs is intentional self regulation (ISR) as youth set and reach goals in contexts with positive options (Gestsdottir & Lerner, 2007, 2008). The current investigation is a preliminary assessment, which begins to examine if ISR is related to positive development in young Scottish adolescents. Based on our findings about this relation, we discuss implications for youth development programs, ones that might help bridge the gap between theory and practice both domestically and internationally
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