“I met this wife of mine and things got onto a better track” Turning points in risk development

doi:10.1006/jado.2001.0448

Journal of Adolescence

Volume 25, Issue 1, February 2002, Pages 47-63

https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2001.0448 Get rights and content

Abstract

In this study, qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined to study the mechanisms involved in turning-point experiences among individuals who had been exposed to several risk factors in childhood and adolescence. The study was part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, in which the lives of the participants (196 boys and 173 girls) have been followed from age 8 to age 36. The data concerning turning points was collected by semi-structured interview when the participants were 36 years old. Participants were classified into six developmental trajectories according to risk factors at ages 8–14 and problems of social functioning at age 36. The results showed that individuals with an unsuccessful childhood constructed their life courses less often in terms of education, work and social transitions compared to others. Those who were managing well in their lives at age 36, despite several risk factors in childhood (resilients) reported positive experiences and plenty of choice in relation to their turning points. Participants in the vulnerable subgroup, for their part, perceived turning points more negatively, and reported few opportunities for personal choice. Altogether, the results indicate that childhood experiences influence the content of turning points in adult life by shaping the direction of actual life paths. The quality of current life, however, has a greater bearing on the way turning points are evaluated. Copyright 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.

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^f1: Reprint requests and correspondence should be addressed to: Anna Rönkä, Family research unit, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FIN-40351 Jyväskylä, Finland. (E-mail: [email protected])

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Regular Article“I met this wife of mine and things got onto a better track” Turning points in risk development

Abstract

Journal of Adolescent Health

Self-efficacy

The Exercise of Control

Coping with life transitions

International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling

Personality continuity and change across the life course

Temperamental qualities at age three predict personality traits in young adulthood: longitudinal evidence from a birth cohort

Child Development

Gender, contexts, and turning points in adults' lives

Life reviews and life stories

Predicting personality stability across the life span: the role of competence and work and family commitments

Journal of Adult Development

The experience of transition to meaning and purpose in life

Journal of Phenomenological Psychology

Military times and turning points in men's lives

Developmental Psychology

The life course and human development

Beyond “Children of the Great Depression”

Human development and social change: an emerging perspective on the life course

Unemployment, school leaving, and crime

British Journal of Criminology

Dynamics of perceived control across adolescence and adulthood

Turning points and transitions: perceptions of the life course

Journal of Family History

Age differences in life events: a multivariate controlled analysis

The International Journal of Aging and Human Development

Beyond Adolescence. Problem Behavior and Young Adult Development

Selection into long-term unemployment and its psychological consequences

International Journal of Behavioral Development

Trajectories of change in criminal offending: good marriages and the desistance process

American Sociological Review

Turning points in the life course: why change matters to the study of crime

Criminology

Integrating quantitative and qualitative data

Development: men versus women

Psychological Reports

The construct of resilience: a critical evaluation and guidelines for future work

Child Development

Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout?

Developmental Psychology

Regular Article
“I met this wife of mine and things got onto a better track” Turning points in risk development