The Development Construction of Adult Competence

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案涉及从出生到35岁的成人角色能力发展的过程。重点是个人在获得工作角色和工作场所关系、与亲密关系伙伴和社会支持网络的关系以及有子女的个人的养育能力方面所遵循的途径。这些角色的有效运作与在31-35岁及以后实现和保持健康和幸福有关。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，其中结果是资产和负债之间随时间运行的复杂相互作用的概率结果。从出生开始，随着年龄的增长，研究重点是(1)个人能力和功能，(2)关系经验，(3)经验表征，(4)周围压力和支持的相互作用。我们现在寻求将连续生命时期的功能评估与成人功能的综合数据联系起来，目的是确定导致多年来能力功能的连续性和变化的因素。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特征的挑战和机遇方面的作用，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该领域的关键问题。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。特别关注的焦点包括童年和青少年的关系如何对成人亲密关系、养育子女和工作场所功能的能力做出贡献。此外，我们将研究能力在三个重点社会角色中的相互作用，并调查有效平衡工作和家庭角色的前因。

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.