Long-Term Self-Regulation Moderates the Role of Internal Resources for Resilience in Positive Youth Development in Portugal

Abstract

Positive Youth Development (PYD) presents a strength-based conception of transition to adulthood that has been well-supported by literature to date. However, research is needed to integrate the pathways to PYD and the possible moderators. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between internal resources for resilience and PYD and to examine the moderating role of short-term and long-term self-regulation by gender. To reach this overall aim, a cross-sectional study was performed with a national sample of 2700 youths (73.3% girls; M_age = 21.3, SD = 2.79) from Portugal, who completed self-report measures. Regression-based moderation models were developed. Results indicated that greater presence of internal resources for resilience was related to higher PYD. Long-term self-regulation and gender moderated this relationship, such that a greater effect was observed in men with high levels of long-term self-regulation. These results highlight the need to integrate prevention and promotion paradigms to foster healthy development in youth, as well as the importance of taking self-regulation skills and gender into account in program design.

Keywords:

• Gender
• Portugal
• positive youth development
• resilience
• self-regulation
• youth

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest, nor benefit from the direct application of this research.

Funding

The research leading to this publication was co-funded by different partial supports such as the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (Grants: Gina Tomé – SFRH/BPD/108637/2015; Marta Reis – SFRH/BPD/110905/2015), WJCR/ISPA, Instituto Universitário; ISAMB, FML/University of Lisbon; FMH/University of Lisbon. This manuscript was performed during a research period in Faculty of Human Kinetics – Universidade de Lisboa, granted by “Becas Iberoamerica Santander Investigacion” to Diego Gomez-Baya.

Ethical statement

The HBSC/JUnP followed all the rules for research outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Commission of the Medicine Academic Center of Lisbon (Centro Académico de Medicina de Lisboa), CHLN/FMUL/IMM (Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte/Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa/Instituto de Medicina Molecular). Individual and parental informed consents were obtained. Confidentiality was ensured with anonymous response to the questionnaire and access restricted to the research team members, regarding the work on computing and data analyses.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Diego Gomez-Baya

Diego Gomez-Baya is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social, Developmental, and Educational Psychology of the Universidad de Huelva (Spain). His main research interest is the analysis of risk and protective factors for psychological well-being during adolescence and youth from a developmental and educational perspective.

Gina Tomé

Gina Tomé is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Education, Social Sciences, and Humanities of the Faculdade de Motricidade Humana of the Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal). Her main research interests are school adjustment and the design of school-based intervention programs to promote psychological well-being in adolescents.

Marta Reis

Marta Reis is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Education, Social Sciences, and Humanities of the Faculdade de Motricidade Humana of the Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal). Her main research interest is the analysis of risk and protective factors for programs design to promote healthy lifestyles and sexual health in adolescents.

Margarida Gaspar de Matos

Margarida Gaspar de Matos is Full Professor in the Department of Education, Social Sciences, and Humanities of the Faculdade de Motricidade Humana of the Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal). She is the principal investigator of multiple projects concerning well-being and healthy life-style promotion in Portuguese children and adolescents that are part of WHO’s study of Health Behavior in School-aged Children.