Adolescent or Parent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI)

Abstract

The Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI), developed by Kristin L. Moilanen, is a psychological instrument designed to comprehensively measure self-regulation abilities in adolescents. This scale is unique in its focus on distinguishing between two primary dimensions of self-regulatory functioning: short-term regulation and long-term regulation. It provides a structured method for assessing how effectively youth manage their impulses, attention, emotions, and goal-directed behavior. The ASRI is widely used in developmental psychology research to understand the predictors and outcomes associated with regulatory capacity during adolescence.

Keywords

Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory, ASRI, self-regulation, short-term regulation, long-term regulation, behavioral control, adolescent development, psychological assessment, impulse control.

Authors

Kristin L. Moilanen, Daniel S. Shaw, Amber Fitzpatrick.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the ASRI is to provide a reliable and validated self-report measure of self-regulatory capacity in young individuals. It aims to quantify how effectively adolescents manage their internal states, attention, and impulses, particularly in relation to goal achievement and coping with immediate stressors. The instrument offers a more granular assessment than general measures of self-control by explicitly addressing both reactive and proactive regulatory skills.

By separating short-term from long-term regulatory skills, the instrument serves as a crucial diagnostic and research tool, allowing practitioners to identify specific areas of regulatory deficit or strength that may impact academic performance, social interactions, and emotional resilience during the transition through adolescence.

Construct

The ASRI measures the overarching psychological construct of self-regulation, defined as the ability to monitor and manage one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in pursuit of goals. Moilanen’s work operationalized this complex construct into two distinct, yet related, dimensions:

• Short-Term Regulation: This dimension focuses on immediate, reactive control. It involves the capacity to manage emotional arousal, shift attention away from distractions, inhibit momentary impulses, and recover quickly from interruptions or setbacks. These skills are crucial for handling immediate situational demands.

• Long-Term Regulation: This dimension addresses proactive, executive functioning necessary for future success. It includes skills such as planning, persistence toward distant goals, delaying gratification, and maintaining focused effort on tasks that are inherently dull, difficult, or require sustained effort over time.

Validity

Based on foundational studies published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, the ASRI has demonstrated strong construct validity. Validation procedures involved using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to confirm the theoretical two-factor structure (Short-Term and Long-Term Regulation), ensuring that the items accurately load onto the hypothesized domains. Discriminant validity has also been established by showing that the ASRI factors are distinct from, though correlated with, related constructs such as personality traits and general psychopathology.

Furthermore, the scale exhibits predictive validity, correlating significantly with key developmental outcomes in adolescents, including academic achievement, risk-taking behaviors, and social competence, thereby confirming its utility in measuring functional self-regulatory capacity.

Reliability

The reliability of the ASRI has been extensively evaluated, primarily through measures of internal consistency. Research conducted by the scale’s author (Moilanen, 2007) reported acceptable to strong internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha) for both the overall scale and its respective subscales (Short-Term Regulation and Long-Term Regulation). These findings suggest that the items within each domain are highly cohesive and consistently measure the same underlying aspect of self-regulation.

Factor Analysis

The psychometric structure of the ASRI is supported by a robust two-factor model, validated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. This analysis confirmed that adolescent self-regulation is not a unitary concept but is best represented by two separable, oblique factors: Short-Term Regulation and Long-Term Regulation. This factorial distinction provides empirical support for the theoretical model, highlighting the differential nature of immediate coping mechanisms versus proactive goal pursuit.

The factor structure guides the scoring process, ensuring that researchers can analyze immediate inhibitory control separately from sustained persistence and planning abilities, offering a highly differentiated profile of the participant’s regulatory skills.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Questionnaire/Inventory

Format: 5-point Likert scale, where respondents indicate how true each statement is for them (1 = Not at all true for me, 5 = Really true for me).

Language Available: English (Primary publication language)

Population Group: Adolescents (self-report) and Parents (a parallel parent-report version exists, implied by the full title).

Age Group: Typically early to middle adolescence (age 10-18).

Population Details: Developed and standardized using general population samples of youth, suitable for educational, clinical, and research settings focused on developmental psychopathology and positive youth development.

Test Methodology: The scale consists of 36 items. Scoring involves summing item responses, with specific items requiring reverse coding (Items 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 34, and 35). Subscale scores are calculated as follows: Short-term regulation items are: 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, and 22. Long-term regulation items are: 3, 4, 12, 15, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, and 36.

Keywords

Psychometrics, behavioral control, impulse control, emotional regulation, persistence, goal setting, developmental psychology, questionnaire.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The ASRI was initially developed in 2005 and formally published in 2007. It is generally available for non-commercial academic research use. Researchers seeking to utilize the scale should contact the primary author, Kristin L. Moilanen, for explicit permissions and the most current version of the instrument.

The original PDF for the instrument, including items and scoring information, can be downloaded here: http://www.performwell.org/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=att_download&link_id=208&cf_id=24

Reference’s

• Moilanen, K. L. (2005). The Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI): A new way to measure self-regulation. Unpublished manuscript, University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

• Moilanen, K. L. (2007). The Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory: The development and validation of a questionnaire of short-term and long-term self-regulation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 835-848.

• Moilanen, Kristin L., Shaw, Daniel S., and Fitzpatrick, Amber. (2010). Self-Regulation in Early Adolescence: Relations with Mother–Son Relationship Quality and Maternal Regulatory Support and Antagonism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(11), 1357-1367.

• Bandy, T. & Moore, K. (2010). Assessing self-regulation: A guide for out-of-school time program practitioners. Results-to-Research Brief #2010-23. Child Trends.

• Moilanen (2007). Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory. In: Simmons C. A., Lehmann P. (eds). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 458-460. (2013). Google Scholar

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Items of the Adolescent or Parent Self-Regulatory Inventory (ASRI)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. It’s hard for me to notice when I’ve ―had enough‖ (sweets‚ food‚ etc.).

2. When I’m sad‚ I can usually start doing something that will make me feel better.

3. If something isn’t going according to my plans‚ I change my actions to try and reach my goal.

4. I can find ways to make myself study even when my friends want to go out.

5. I lose track of the time when I’m doing something fun.

6. When I’m bored I fidget or can’t sit still.

7. It’s hard for me to get started on big projects that require planning in advance.

8. I can usually act normal around everybody if I’m upset with someone.

9. I am good at keeping track of lots of things going on around me‚ even when I’m feeling stressed.

10. When I’m ha‎ving a tough day‚ I stop myself from whining about it to my family or friends.

11. I can start a new task even if I’m already tired.

12. I lose control whenever I don’t get my way.

13. Little problems detract me from my long-term plans.

14. I forget about whatever else I need to do when I’m doing something really fun.

15. If I really want something‚ I have to have it right away.

16. During a dull class‚ I have trouble forcing myself to start paying attention.

17. After I’m interrupted or distracted‚ I can easily continue working where I left off.

18. If there are other things going on around me‚ I find it hard to keep my attention focused on whatever I’m doing.

19. I never know how much more work I have to do.

20. When I have a serious disagreement with someone‚ I can talk calmly about it without losing control.

21. It’s hard to start making plans to deal with a big project or problem‚ especially when I’m feeling stressed.

22. I can calm myself down when I’m excited or all wound up.

23. I can stay focused on my work even when it’s dull.

24. I usually know when I’m going to start crying.

25. I can stop myself from doing things like throwing objects when I’m mad.

26. I work carefully when I know something will be tricky.

27. I am usually aware of my feelings before I let them out.

28. In class‚ I can concentrate on my work even if my friends are talking.

29. When I’m excited about reaching a goal (e.g.‚ getting my driver’s license‚ going to college)‚ it’s easy to start working toward it.

30. I can find a way to stick with my plans and goals‚ even when it’s tough.

31. When I have a big project‚ I can keep working on it.

32. I can usually tell when I’m getting tired or frustrated.

33. I get carried away emotionally when I get excited about something.

34. I have trouble getting excited about something that’s really special when I’m tired.

35. It’s hard for me to keep focused on something I find unpleasant or upsetting.

36. I can resist doing something when I know I shouldn’t do it.