Outlines a life-span model which extends Piaget's theory of cognitive development to adulthood. (SS)

Addresses Courtenay's reservations about adult development models by arguing that different models evince underlying similarities; development that is not fully achieved need not imply abnormality; and more developmentally advanced adults need not be considered "more worthy." Suggests that models offer support, encouragement, and hope to…

Sees Levenson and Crumpler's liberative model as idealistic, and critiques apparently anti-materialistic implications of the model. Maintains that Levenson and Crumpler's suggestion that the goal of adult development is to free the individual from environmental and biological influences is bad science but constitutes a valuable sermon. (BC)

A narrative approach can eliminate the shortcomings of stage and phase models of adult development. Narrative is based on constructivist epistemology and central to human meaning making. Time and narrative are integrally related; narrative is historical and can be understood as interpretation of life stories. Individual and cultural narratives are…

Examines criticisms of existing models of adult development from both feminist and developmental psychologists. A model of women's adult self-definition is presented, based upon current research on women's adult experience. The model combines a dialectical approach, which considers the effects of social/historical factors, with a feminist…

Argues that the "ontogenetic" model of adult development theory is inappropriate because it treats as "natural" a subject that is social in character. Offers instead some essential elements of a "sociogenic" paradigm drawn from the accumulated body of sociological research and theory. (CMG)

Compares ontogenetic models, which stress development through a series of stages; sociogenic models, which stress the influence of social context on adult behavior; and liberative models. Liberative models do not treat adult development as entirely dependent on biological or social determinism, and do stress individuals' conscious efforts at…

The residency is examined from the standpoint of adult developmental theory, and significant developmental tasks facing residents are described. Recommendations for management of common developmental conflicts occurring in residency are discussed. (Author/MLW)

This article proposes use of a life-span developmental perspective in research on adults with learning disabilities. Considerations for incorporating such essential concepts as mediating variables, context, and age-span phases into research on this population are discussed. (DB)

Nine stages are identified in a model of adult vocational development that assumes career development is a life-span process that goes through various structural periods and transition cycles. (JMF)

While research on functional decline in later life has expanded knowledge on aging, theories of functional transitions are needed. Proposes a conceptual model that views change as mobility between states. Exploring the analogy between geographic migration and functional change suggests several migration concepts that might be borrowed by aging…

Objective: The authors examine the development of the psychiatrist from an adult developmental perspective, focusing on the early development and consolidation of highly adaptive clinical and other professional habits. They place special emphasis on the professional development of the academic psychiatrist. Method: The authors review and use…

This paper presents a model that offers strategies for enhancing quality relationships across the family life cycle. The materials support the identification of characteristics of strong families and describe the course of marital development. The model includes a description of the need for an educational and/or intervention framework to enhance…

Compared three groups of people (N=134) facing midcareer crisis using a structured interview. Suggested that Hopson and Adams' (1977) model can provide a framework for understanding emotional factors in voluntary career transitions. Janis and Mann's (1977) conflict model describes where in the decision-making process the groups chose alternative…

Applies two-axis model of human development to problem of suicide trajectory, in which organism begins each stage at negative or dystonic position in reaction to stage-initiating life event and must move ahead vertically to achieve positive syntonic quality and attain stage-specific syntonic equilibrium. Provides clinician with developmental guide…