Rethinking adult development: Introduction to the special issue.

Abstract

This is the introduction for the special issue of American Psychologist titled "Rethinking Adult Development: New Ideas for New Times." It highlights the main themes of the special issue and discusses the implications of current trends for future directions. Entry to adult family and work roles now comes later than ever before. More adults than in the past remain single, or coupled but "child-free," and fertility rates have declined, so that caring for children no longer dominates the entirety of adult life. The "knowledge economy" of today takes greater educational preparation and skill development but makes work more cognitively challenging and potentially rewarding than in the past. Adults not only live longer than ever before but are healthier for longer. Likely future trends include greater presence and involvement of grandparents and great-grandparents in children's lives and greater involvement in paid and unpaid work past age 60. Questions and challenges include continuing changes in the nature of family and work arrangements, as well as time devoted to electronic media use. Altogether, the study of adult development presents a great array of fascinating and important questions for psychological research with implications for interventions and policy.

Unraveling the Role of Socio-Emotional Competencies Between Future Time Perspective and Subjective Wellbeing Across Adulthood

“…It is then possible that people develop greater competencies in understanding and managing emotions and social aspects because they are more motivated to maintain significant affections, which increase the wellbeing experienced. In particular, mastery of the environment is in relation to the management skills of both work and emotions, emphasizing the importance for adults to cope with the professional and work challenges that arise in everyday life (Arnett, Robinson, & Lachman, 2020).…”

“…Being able to achieve future goals derived from the different roles can influence the ability to both manage daily challenges and successfully project themselves into the future (Arnett, Robinson, &and Lachman, 2020;Savickas & Porfeli, 2012). People with stronger future orientation have expectations, aspirations, and plan.…”

Development of social convoys: Trajectories of convoy structure and composition from childhood through adulthood.

“…Changes in close, personal networks occur across the life span, especially during periods of transition. Early adulthood is a period of shifting social roles, obligations, and societal expectations, as well as changing interpersonal relationships (Arnett, 2000; Arnett et al, 2020). Theoretical life course perspectives, including the convoy model of social relations and cross-sectional empirical evidence (Antonucci et al, 2010; Kahn & Antonucci, 1980), indicate differences in personal network, or social convoy, characteristics at different points in the life span.…”

Patterns of early adult work and postsecondary participation among individuals with high-incidence disabilities: A longitudinal person-centered analysis.

“…Evidence derived from normative samples also indicates that participation in these activities is often interrelated such that some youth who attend postsecondary school delay engaging in employment until finishing school (Eliason et al, 2015; Vuolo et al, 2014) whereas others pursue more intensive employment directly following high school, but then may enter postsecondary school after working for several years in an effort to achieve higher quality work opportunities (Vuolo et al, 2014). Such pathways into adulthood have been studied with increasing intensity by scholars interested in life course development and emerging adulthood (Arnett et al, 2020; Matz-Costa et al, 2014; Vuolo et al, 2014), but if and when such patterns emerge among young adults with disabilities remains largely unknown. Moreover, the currently common practice of investigating singular indicators of adult adjustment among young adults with disabilities (e.g., employment; Haber et al, 2016; Ipsen et al, 2019) may be masking more complex early adult developmental pathways.…”