Integrating Theory and Method in the Study of Positive Youth Development. The Sample Case of Gender-Specificity and Longitudinal Stability of the Dimensions of Intention Self-Regulation (Selection, Optimization, and Compensation)

The study of positive youth development (PYD) rests on the integration of sound developmental theory with rigorous developmental methods. To illustrate this link, we focused on the Selection (S), Optimization (O), and Compensation (C; SOC) model of intentional self regulation, a key individual-level component of the individual context relations involved in the PYD process, and assessed the dimensional structure of the SOC questionnaire, which includes indices of Elective Selection, Loss-Based Selection, Optimization, and Compensation. Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data from Grades 10 and 11 of the 4-H Study of PYD, we estimated three models through bifactor data analysis, a procedure that allows indicators to load both on their specific latent variables and on a superordinate factor that comprises the construct under study. The first model estimated was a standard bifactor model, computed separately for the 10th and 11 graders. In both samples, the same model described the hypothesized structure well. The second model, proposed for the first time in this chapter, compared multiple groups in their bifactor structure. Results indicated only minimal gender differences in SOC structure in Grade 10. The third model, also proposed for the first time in this chapter, involved an autoregression-type model for longitudinal data, and used data from the 609 participants present in both grades. Results suggested that the SOC bifactor structure was temporally stable.