David Magnusson - Böcker

Longitudinal research is an essential element in the investigation of human development over time, with considerable advantages over more widely used cross-sectional research designs. This book examines the scope for longitudinal studies in a range of developmental fields, emphasizing the advantages of this approach for the investigation of causal mechanisms and processes and the dynamics of development over the lifespan. It also discusses methodological issues and some of the practical and ethical problems that longitudinal research may present. The distinguished contributors review normal and disordered development in the emotional, cognitive and social domains, including valuable discussions of gene-environment interactions, the maturation of the human brain, and issues relating to ageing.

This book provides an overview of the central issues of data quality in longitudinal research, with a focus on data relevant for studying individual development. Topics covered include reliability, validity, sampling, aggregation, and the correspondence between theory and method; more specific, practical issues in longitudinal research, such as the drop-out problem and issues of confidentiality are also addressed. The volume is the result of an interdisciplinary endeavour by leading European scientists to discuss appropriate ways of handling various types of longitudinal data, including psychiatric data, alcohol data, and criminal data.

Longitudinal research is an essential element in the investigation of human development over time, with considerable advantages over more widely used cross-sectional research designs. This book examines the scope for longitudinal studies in a range of developmental fields, emphasizing the advantages of this approach for the investigation of causal mechanisms and processes and the dynamics of development over the lifespan. It also discusses methodological issues and some of the practical and ethical problems that longitudinal research may present. The distinguished contributors review normal and disordered development in the emotional, cognitive and social domains, including valuable discussions of gene-environment interactions, the maturation of the human brain, and issues relating to ageing.

This volume focuses on methods of data treatment, emphasising the importance of careful matching of methodology to the substantive problem under consideration. It deals particularly with concepts of stability and change which are central to personality and developmental research. Contributions to this volume explore the methodology and scope of life span studies in a varity of contexts, including intellectual and cognitive development, transitions such as that from childhood to early adult life, social mobility, behavioural genetics, and psychological disorder, particularly depression. A valuable reference for a wide range of interests in developmental psychology, social and behavioural science, psychiatry, epidemiology and statistics.

Research on physical maturity has demonstrated conclusively that the assumption of an age-homogenous development does not always hold true. This volume presents a biosocial model focusing on the role of individual differences in biological maturation to be used as a framework for empirical studies exploring adolescent female development. The longitudinal design of the research program offers the possibilities to examine both short- and long-term consequences for individual variations in pubertal development. In the present volume, the data for these analyses consist of a broad range of biological, mental, psychological, behavioral, and social factors extending from the age of 10 to the age of 30. Some of the questions the present volume attempts to answer are:* Are variations in the timing of pubertal development among girls related to their psychological and social life situation in the adolescent years? If so, when is the relation most prominent? In what areas is the relation most prominent? How does the relation come about?* Do interindividual differences in physical maturation have any long-term consequences for adult life? If so, in what areas, for which girls, and through which developmental processes does pubertal development operate? The long-term consequences are a major concern addressed in considerable detail.

During the last decade there has been increased awareness of the limitations of standard approaches to the study of development. When the focus is on variables and relationships, the individual is easily lost. This book describes an alternative, person-oriented approach in which the focus is on the individual as a functioning whole. The authors take as their theoretical starting points the holistic-interactionistic research paradigm expounded by David Magnusson and others, and the new developmental science in which connections and interactions between different systems (biological, psychological, social, etc.) are stressed. They present a quantitative methodology for preserving--to the maximum extent possible--the individual as a functioning whole that is largely based on work carried out in the Stockholm Laboratory for Developmental Science over the past 20 years. The book constitutes a complete introductory guide to the person-oriented approach. The authors lay out the underlying theory, a number of basic methods, the necessary computer programs, and an extensive empirical example. (The computer programs have been collected into a statistical package, SLEIPNER, that is freely accessible on the Internet. The empirical example deals with boys' school adjustment from a pattern perspective and covers both positive and negative adaptation.) Studying Individual Development in an Interindividual Context: A Person-Oriented Approach will be crucial reading for all researchers who seek to understand the complexities of human development and for their advanced students.

During the last decade there has been increased awareness of the limitations of standard approaches to the study of development. When the focus is on variables and relationships, the individual is easily lost. This book describes an alternative, person-oriented approach in which the focus is on the individual as a functioning whole. The authors take as their theoretical starting points the holistic-interactionistic research paradigm expounded by David Magnusson and others, and the new developmental science in which connections and interactions between different systems (biological, psychological, social, etc.) are stressed. They present a quantitative methodology for preserving--to the maximum extent possible--the individual as a functioning whole that is largely based on work carried out in the Stockholm Laboratory for Developmental Science over the past 20 years. The book constitutes a complete introductory guide to the person-oriented approach. The authors lay out the underlying theory, a number of basic methods, the necessary computer programs, and an extensive empirical example. (The computer programs have been collected into a statistical package, SLEIPNER, that is freely accessible on the Internet. The empirical example deals with boys' school adjustment from a pattern perspective and covers both positive and negative adaptation.) Studying Individual Development in an Interindividual Context: A Person-Oriented Approach will be crucial reading for all researchers who seek to understand the complexities of human development and for their advanced students.

Published in the year 1981, Toward a Psychology of Situations is a valuable contribution to the field of Social Psychology.

Originally published in 1991, this volume represents the first systematic attempt to apply a pattern approach to a comprehensive longitudinal investigation. It focuses on individual differences in female career development, from early adolescence through young adulthood. Rather than constructing a general model of career development, the authors use the interplay between theory and observation to build networks of patterns demonstrating the long-term consequences for adult women's career involvement, their educational levels, their family commitments, and their social networks.Throughout their investigation the authors interpret individuals' patterns as characterizing processes that underlie women's differential development. They illustrate that a research strategy oriented toward pattern analysis and related methodology reveals information that is generally obscured in more traditional variable-oriented designs. They also argue that a pattern approach is particularly suited to the tenets of modern interactionism, which provides the theoretical foundation of the study.

Originally published in 1991, this volume represents the first systematic attempt to apply a pattern approach to a comprehensive longitudinal investigation. It focuses on individual differences in female career development, from early adolescence through young adulthood. Rather than constructing a general model of career development, the authors use the interplay between theory and observation to build networks of patterns demonstrating the long-term consequences for adult women's career involvement, their educational levels, their family commitments, and their social networks.Throughout their investigation the authors interpret individuals' patterns as characterizing processes that underlie women's differential development. They illustrate that a research strategy oriented toward pattern analysis and related methodology reveals information that is generally obscured in more traditional variable-oriented designs. They also argue that a pattern approach is particularly suited to the tenets of modern interactionism, which provides the theoretical foundation of the study.

Originally published in 1988, this title presents a longitudinal research project ‘Individual Development and Adjustment’ (IDA), planned and implemented at the Department of Psychology, University of Stockholm. This title concerns the theoretical background of the project, the planning and collecting of data during the second phase of the project when the participants had reached adulthood, and the presentation of some empirical, illustrative studies based on the collected data.

Originally published in 1988, this title presents a longitudinal research project ‘Individual Development and Adjustment’ (IDA), planned and implemented at the Department of Psychology, University of Stockholm. This title concerns the theoretical background of the project, the planning and collecting of data during the second phase of the project when the participants had reached adulthood, and the presentation of some empirical, illustrative studies based on the collected data.