The Development Construction of Adult Competence

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案涉及从出生到35岁的过程，这些过程说明了成人角色能力的发展。重点是个人在工作角色和工作场所关系、与关系密切的伙伴的关系和社会支持网络以及-对于有子女的个人-养育子女方面获得能力所遵循的途径。这些角色的有效运作与实现和保持31-35岁及以后的健康和福祉有关。在过去的30年里，我们详细追踪了180个人的能力和适应模式。这项工作遵循一个发展模型，其中的结果是随着时间的推移，资产和负债之间复杂的相互作用的概率结果。从出生开始，按年龄，研究重点是（1）个人能力和功能，（2）关系经验，（3）经验的表征，（4）周围的压力和支持的相互作用。我们现在试图将连续生命期的功能评估与成人功能的综合数据联系起来，目的是确定多年来持续和变化的因素。独特的是，我们可以研究儿童与环境之间的早期交易在塑造适应年龄独特的挑战和机遇中的作用，这些挑战和机遇出现在这个关键的成年时期。预测对压力和机会的不同反应是这一领域的一个关键问题。所有这些都可以基于独立的数据来源，而不依赖于回顾性报告。特别重点包括儿童和青少年的关系如何有助于成年人的亲密关系，养育子女和工作场所的运作能力。此外，我们还将研究三个焦点社会角色的能力的相互影响，并调查工作和家庭角色的有效平衡的前因。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal addresses processes from birth to age 35 that account for the development of competence in adult roles. The focus is the pathways individuals follow in attaining competence in work roles and workplace relationships, relationships with close-relationship partners and networks of social support, and - for individuals with children - parenting. Effective functioning in these roles is related to achieving and maintaining health and well being in and beyond the ages 31-35. For the past 30 years, we have traced in detail patterns of competence and adaptation of 180 individuals. The work follows from a developmental model, wherein outcome is the probabilistic result of complex interactions between assets and liabilities operating over time. Beginning at birth, age by age, the study focuses on the interplay of (1) individual capacities and functioning, (2) relationship experience, (3) representations of experience, and (4) surrounding stresses and supports. We now seek to link assessments of functioning in successive life periods to comprehensive data on adult functioning with the goal of identifying factors that account for continuity and change in competent functioning across the years. Uniquely, we can examine the role of the earlier transactions between child and environment in shaping adaptations to age-distinctive challenges and opportunities that arise in this critical adult period. Predicting differential responsiveness to stresses and opportunities is a critical issue in this field. All of this can be done based on independent sources of data and without relying on retrospective reports. Particular foci include how childhood and adolescent relationships contribute to competence in adult close relationships, parenting, and workplace functioning. In addition, we will examine the reciprocal effects of competence in the three focal social roles and investigate the antecedents of effective balancing of work and family roles.