Developmental Tasks as a Framework to Study Personality Development in Adulthood and Old Age

Hutteman, Roos; Hennecke, Marie; Orth, Ulrich; Reitz, Anne K.; Specht, Jule

doi:10.1002/per.1959

Cited by 284 publications

(309 citation statements)

References 105 publications

(126 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

282

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, the effect of relationship break-up supports the dynamic equilibrium model (or set point model) of personality development, which posits that personality traits change only temporarily in response to major life experiences, but then return to a genetically influenced person-specific set point (cf. Specht et al 2014;Ormel, Riese, & Rosmalen, 2012;see also Fraley & Roberts, 2005;Luhmann et al, 2014).…”

Section: Socialization Effects Of Relationship Transitions On Self-esmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Finding a partner, committing to a romantic relationship, and adopting the new role as a partner is a central developmental task in these age periods (e.g., Havighurst, 1972;Hutteman et al, 2014). Successfully mastering this developmental task might boost self-esteem.…”

Section: Socialization Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, normative life transitions in romantic relationships, which imply the commitment to new social roles, have the potential to initiate ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND SELF-ESTEEM DEVELOPMENT 9 personality change. The age periods of late adolescence and young adulthood are characterized by change and exploration, which frequently leads to important developmental transitions.Finding a partner, committing to a romantic relationship, and adopting the new role as a partner is a central developmental task in these age periods (e.g., Havighurst, 1972;Hutteman et al, 2014). Successfully mastering this developmental task might boost self-esteem.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Transitions in romantic relationships and development of self-esteem.

Luciano

Orth

2017

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Self Cite

112

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research suggests that self-esteem increases during late adolescence and young adulthood, but that there is large interindividual variability in this development. However, little is known about the factors accounting for these findings. Using propensity score matching, we tested whether important transitions in the domain of romantic relationships (i.e., beginning a relationship, marrying, and breaking up) explain why individuals differ in the particular selfesteem trajectory they follow. Data came from a longitudinal German study with a large sample of three nationally representative cohorts of late adolescents and young adults (total N = 9,069).The analyses were based on four assessments across a three-year period. Using matched samples, the results showed that beginning a relationship increased self-esteem and that the increase persisted when the relationship held at least for one year. Experiencing a relationship break-up decreased self-esteem, but the effect disappeared after one year, even if the participant stayed single. Marrying did not influence self-esteem. Additionally, we tested for selection effects of self-esteem on the later occurrence of relationship transitions. High self-esteem predicted the beginning of a relationship and low self-esteem predicted relationship break-up. All findings held across gender, age, and migration background. Furthermore, relationship quality mediated the effect of self-esteem on relationship break-up and the effect of beginning a longer vs. a short relationship on self-esteem. The findings have significant implications because they show that self-esteem influences whether important transitions occur in the relationship domain and that, in turn, experiencing these transitions influences the further development of self-esteem.Keywords: self-esteem development, life transitions, romantic relationships, propensity score matching, longitudinal ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND SELF-ESTEEM DEVELOPMENT 3 Transitions in Romantic Relationships and Development of Self-EsteemIn recent years, there has been a growing interest in the development of self-esteem.Research has shown that self-esteem-which is defined as "an individual's subjective evaluation of her or his worth as a person" (Donnellan, Trzesniewski, & Robins, 2011, p.718)-typically increases during late adolescence and young adulthood, but that individuals differ substantially in the particular self-esteem trajectory they follow (e.g., Orth & Robins, 2014;Trzesniewski, Donnellan, & Robins, 2013). However, surprisingly little is known about the factors that shape self-esteem development. Although many researchers assume that events occurring in a person's life such as establishing a romantic relationship or being promoted have the potential to affect a person's level of self-esteem, only few studies have actually tested whether important life events and life transitions influence self-esteem (see Orth & Luciano, 2015). Thus, there is a need for a better understanding of the factors that account for individual differenc...

show abstract

Section: Socialization Effects Of Relationship Transitions On Self-esmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Socialization Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Transitions in romantic relationships and development of self-esteem.

Luciano

Orth

2017

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Self Cite

112

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During young adulthood, people establish many new social roles, for example by entering into working life, by marrying (or cohabiting with a relationship partner), and by having a baby (Hutteman, Hennecke, Orth, Reitz, & Specht, 2014). During middle adulthood, the developmental tasks typically consist in further investing in these social roles, by maintaining a satisfying relationship with one's spouse or relationship partner, by helping children to become responsible and well-functioning adults, and by further improving one's professional competencies and, frequently, taking on more managerial functions at work (Hutteman et al, 2014).…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectives On Lifespan Development Of Self-esteemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…People assume social roles in life domains such as close relationships, family, work, and the community, and each social role involves a set of social expectations that describe which behavior is role-congruent and, consequently, which behavior will be rewarded or punished by others who interact with the individual. These expectations influence behavior and, in the long run, may lead to changes in the individual's personality.According to the neo-socioanalytic theory, many social roles (such as the roles of spouse, parent, employee, and supervisor) call for emotional stability, conscientiousness, social dominance, and agreeableness.During young adulthood, people establish many new social roles, for example by entering into working life, by marrying (or cohabiting with a relationship partner), and by having a baby (Hutteman, Hennecke, Orth, Reitz, & Specht, 2014). During middle adulthood, the developmental tasks typically consist in further investing in these social roles, by maintaining a satisfying relationship with one's spouse or relationship partner, by helping children to become responsible and well-functioning adults, and by further improving one's professional competencies and, frequently, taking on more managerial functions at work (Hutteman et al, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-esteem development across the life span: A longitudinal study with a large sample from Germany.

Orth

Maes

Schmitt

2015

Developmental Psychology

Self Cite

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We examined the development of self-esteem across the lifespan. Data came from a German longitudinal study with three assessments across 4 years of a sample of 2,509 individuals aged 14 to 89 years. The self-esteem measure used showed strong measurement invariance across assessments and birth cohorts. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that self-esteem follows a quadratic trajectory across the lifespan, increasing during adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood, reaching a peak at age 60 years, and then declining in old age. No cohort effects on average levels of self-esteem or on the shape of the trajectory were found. Moreover, the trajectory did not differ across gender, level of education, or for individuals who had lived continuously in West vs. East Germany (i.e., the two separate countries from 1949 to 1990).However, the results suggested that employment status, household income, and satisfaction in the domains of work, relationships, and health contribute to a more positive lifespan trajectory of self-esteem. The findings have significant implications because they call attention to developmental stages in which individuals may be vulnerable due to low self-esteem (such as adolescence and old age) and to factors that predict successful versus problematic developmental trajectories.Keywords: self-esteem, lifespan development, measurement invariance, longitudinal SELF-ESTEEM DEVELOPMENT 3 Self-Esteem Development Across the Lifespan: A Longitudinal Study with a Large Sample from GermanyHow the self-esteem of individuals develops as they go through life is of considerable societal significance because mounting evidence suggests that self-esteem is predictive of a person's success and well-being in important life domains such as relationships, work, and health. For example, longitudinal research indicates that self-esteem predicts satisfaction in marriage and close relationships (Orth, Robins, & Widaman, 2012), social support (Marshall, Parker, Ciarrochi, & Heaven, 2014), success and well-being in working life (Kuster, Orth, & Meier, 2013;Orth et al., 2012), mental health (Sowislo & Orth, 2013;Trzesniewski et al., 2006), and physical health (Orth et al., 2012;Trzesniewski et al., 2006). In recent years, a growing number of studies have provided important insights into the nature and consequences of selfesteem development (for a review, see Orth & Robins, 2014). However, few longitudinal studies have examined self-esteem from a lifespan perspective, due to the lack of studies that included samples with sufficiently broad age ranges. As yet, two longitudinal data sets have been used to track the self-esteem trajectory across the lifespan (Orth et al., 2012;Orth, Trzesniewski, & Robins, 2010). However, although these studies yielded converging evidence on the lifespan trajectory, their samples came from a single country (specifically, the United States). Given that cultures shape the prototypical self-concept and tendency toward self-enhancement among their members (Heine, Lehman, Markus, & ...

show abstract

Foundations of Adult Development and Learning

Gordon¹,

Ross-Gordon²

2018

The Wiley Handbook of Educational Supervision

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Developmental Tasks as a Framework to Study Personality Development in Adulthood and Old Age

Cited by 284 publications

References 105 publications

Transitions in romantic relationships and development of self-esteem.

Transitions in romantic relationships and development of self-esteem.

Self-esteem development across the life span: A longitudinal study with a large sample from Germany.

Foundations of Adult Development and Learning

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About