A Life Span Developmental Perspective on Psychosocial Development in Midlife

Empirical evidence is reviewed about the contributions of life changes and the coronary-prone behavior pattern in the development of myocardial infarction in middle adulthood. Since established clinical risk factors account for about half of the total variance, it is necessary to explore in more detail the crucial developmental role that distressing psychologic and social parameters should play. Because of the generally prolonged incubation period of the effects of psychosocial risk factors, it is proposed that they should be studied from a life-span developmental perspective. Two metamodels seem appropriate in this respect: a mechanistic model by Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend, and an organismic model by Levinson. After scrutinizing some properties of these models, including their potential explanatory power, it is argued that an organismic model may predict better the pathogenic development of distressing psychosocial risk constellations over consecutive phases in the life course of the heart patient.

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A Life-Span Developmental Perspective on Social Status and Health

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/60.special_issue_2.s7 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 60 (Special_Issue_2) ◽

pp. S7-S14 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Duane F. Alwin ◽

Linda A. Wray

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Social Status ◽

Developmental Perspective

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The relationship between social vulnerability and the occurrence of severely threatening life events

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291700013337 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 157-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Lorna Champion

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Life Span ◽

Life Events ◽

Social Vulnerability ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Developmental Perspective ◽

Vulnerability Factors ◽

The Face ◽

The Relationship

SYNOPSISResearch on the role of life events in the onset of depression has suggested that certain vulnerability factors can increase the risk of disorder in the face of a threatening event. The role of vulnerability factors to increase the likelihood of severs events occurring in the first place has remained largelu unexplored. The vulnerability factor which has received the most attention is a lack of social support, particularly lack of a confiding relationship with a husband for women. A reanalysis of a number of published studies is undertaken; this shows that there is a positive relationship between lack of intimacy and the occurrence of adversity. The implications of this finding are briefly discussed, with emphasis on the need for a life-span developmental perspective in future life events research.

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Prospective associations between neuroticism and the common mental disorders: A comment on Brandes and Tackett (2019)

10.31234/osf.io/u9j3n ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Bertus F. Jeronimus

Keyword(s):

Mental Disorders ◽

Life Span ◽

Common Mental Disorders ◽

Developmental Perspective ◽

Dimensional Approach ◽

Time Dimension ◽

Personality Dimension ◽

Analytic Review ◽

The Common

The great review on the connection between neuroticism and psychopathology by Brandes and Tackett (2019) was read by me with interest, approval, and surprise, because a time dimension was missing. A developmental perspective may provide this Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) with mechanistic substance via the intricate interconnections between emotions, symptoms and personality processes as they evolve within each of us over the life span. Additionally, we disagree about neuroticism being the most difficult personality dimension to measure and the absence of frustration as a key element of neuroticism in youth. Also the most recent meta-analytic review of the prospective associations between neuroticism and the common mental disorders was missing. Finally, a strictly dimensional approach leaves me with many questions including why some people with high neuroticism scores do not develop disorders and are healthy and happy.

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