A Review of Developmental Studies in Adolescence, Adulthood, and Old Age

Abstract

This article reviewed studies on psychological development during adolescence and beyond. The target studies were journal articles published in Japan between July 2016 and June 2017, and poster presentations delivered at The 59th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Educational Psychology.In this review, the studies on adolescence were classified from the viewpoint of the stage of schools and main themes, and their contents were summarized. As a result, it became evident that the studies on high school students, adults, and aged people were inadequate. Additionally, issues of sampling methods, sample sizes, replicability, and robustness in developmental studies of undergraduate students were examined. Alternatively, an increase in the number of longitudinal studies and practical studies were evaluated as good trends. Lastly, the importance of theory-based studies and the bio-psycho-social model are discussed.