Human Development from Middle Childhood to Middle Adulthood

"The Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development is one of the most important longitudinal studies of antisocial behaviour conducted anywhere in the world. It is one of the very few projects with repeated personal assessments of hundreds of individuals from childhood up to middle adulthood. This outstandingly important project has greatly advanced knowledge about development through life, and especially about the influence of personality on antisocial behaviour and social functioning. It is extremely important to have the major findings from a wide-ranging longitudinal study, which are often scattered over hundreds of articles, synthesized into one book." David P. Farrington, Emeritus Professor of Psychological Criminology, Cambridge University, UK The Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development is one of the most important longitudinal studies of antisocial behaviour conducted anywhere in the world. It is one of the very few projects with repeated personal assessments of hundreds of individuals from childhood up to middle adulthood. This outstandingly important project has greatly advanced knowledge about development through life, and especially about the influence of personality on antisocial behaviour and social functioning. It is extremely important to have the major findings from a wide-ranging longitudinal study, which are often scattered over hundreds of articles, synthesized into one book. David P. Farrington, Emeritus Professor of Psychological Criminology, Cambridge University

Lea Pulkkinen, PhD, is Professor of Psychology Emerita at the University of Jyvskyl, Finland. For 40 years, she has conducted a longitudinal study on personality and social development. Her interest has focused on the continuity of positive and problem behaviors over time, and transformation of findings into policy for improving the quality of life in childhood and adulthood.

List of figures List of tables List of boxes Preface PART I: Introduction to the Jyvskyl Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development Chapter 1: How the longitudinal study began A historical context for the study of aggression Positive behavior in an impulse control model and the goals of the study The search for alternatives to aggression The impulse control model The goals of the longitudinal study Research conditions in Finland and in the longitudinal study Chapter 2: The execution of the longitudinal study The research sample and the major waves of data collection Attrition and the representativeness of the sample Additional data collections Assessment methods Peer nomination and teacher rating Personal interview Self-reports and other methods Data analysis Chapter 3: Reflections on the research process The evaluation of choices Recommendations for launching a longitudinal study What is development? PART II: The development of personality and psychological functioning Chapter 4: Theoretical frameworks for the study of socioemotional development From cognitive control of impulses to self-control Updated framework The model for the Unfolding of Socioemotional Behavior Self-regulation and executive functions Towards cumulative theoretical reasoning Three layers of personality for organizing research findings Chapter 5: The person as social actor Questions to be answered Socioemotional behavior in childhood and adolescence Agreement between informants 2 Continuity in socioemotional behavior The person-situation controversy Children grow and adult styles of life emerge The two-dimensional framework across generations The unfolding of the styles of life from age 8 to 27 The developmental background of the styles of life A person-oriented approach to personal styles at age 27 Personality profiles at ages 33 to 50 Maturation, adjustment, or growth in adult personality Childhood socioemotional behaviors as predictors of adult personality characteristics Roots of the personality profiles and the clusters of personal styles The roots of adult agreeableness and continuity in aggression Paths from childhood socioemotional behavior to adult personality Chapter 6: The person as motivated agent The transition to adulthood Age-stratified or individualistic transitions? Life changes in early adulthood Patterns and timing of adult transitions The length and timing of ones education The structure of education Predictors of the choice of education "Off-time" education and other post-comprehesive educational trajectories Goals and values Common elements in the life structure of adults Values in middle age Individual life structures and unifying life themes Chapter 7: The person as autobiographical author and an "experiencer" of life A holistic approach to personality Self-reflections Identity formation Personal control over ones own life Optimism and self-esteem Turning points A study of turning points Individual differences in the experience of turning points A qualitative analysis of turning points Chapter 8: Personality and psychological functioning Personality and well-being The concept of mental well-being Continuity in well-being The personality traits associated with mental well-being The model for personality and psychological functioning Explanations for the associations between personality traits and psychological functioning PART III: The development of social functioning Chapter 9: Social development and social functioning