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A Preliminary Validation of the Youth Over- and Under-Control (YOU-C) Screening Measure with a Community Sample

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Abstract

Counselling practice has been supported by the development and use of interventions that are situated around overcontrol (OC) and under-control (UC) personality characteristics. Although related measures are currently available for young children (Gilbert et al., 2020a) and adults (Seretis, 2017), the advancement of counselling practice and related research across international samples can be enhanced through the development and validation of a measure suitable for use with older children and adolescents. We implemented a cross-sectional psychometric validation with 438 young people (Mage = 13.96, SD = 1.59) in south-east London which resulted in preliminary evidence for the Youth Over- and Under-Control (YOU-C) measure, 2-factor solution represented by Overcontrol (14 items) and Under-Control (11 items) subscales that accounted for 33.01% of variance among scores. Reliability estimates indicted suitability for basic research purposes, but not clinical decision-making activities. No statistically significant differences were identified based on gender or age.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Mississippi, Guyton Hall, Room 145, University, MS, 38677, USA

    A. Stephen Lenz

  2. Kings College London, London, UK

    Paige James

  3. Maudsley Centre for Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders, London, UK

    Catherine Stewart, Mima Simic & Sarah Carr

  4. Radically Open Ltd, London, UK

    Roelie Hempel

  5. North East London Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Paige James

Authors
  1. A. Stephen Lenz
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  2. Paige James
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  5. Roelie Hempel
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  6. Sarah Carr
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Correspondence to A. Stephen Lenz.

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Lenz, A.S., James, P., Stewart, C. et al. A Preliminary Validation of the Youth Over- and Under-Control (YOU-C) Screening Measure with a Community Sample. Int J Adv Counselling 43, 489–503 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-021-09439-9

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