Supplement articleContemporary developmental theory and adolescence: developmental systems and applied developmental science
Section snippets
Developmental systems models of human development
The stress in contemporary developmental theories is on a “healing” of the nature-nurture split [22] and on accounting for how the integrated developmental system functions, that is, for understanding probabilistic epigenesis. Gottlieb [22] defined this process as being “characterized by an increase of complexity or organization—that is, the emergence of new structural and functional properties and competencies—at all levels of analysis (molecular, subcellular, cellular, organismic) as a
Integrating developmental systems theory in the study of adolescence
All levels of organization integrated within the developmental system change. Therefore, from the perspective of developmental systems theory in general, or of developmental contextualism more specifically, adolescents and their families, communities, and societies develop, showing systematic and successive changes over time 37, 61. These changes are interdependent. Changes within one level of organization (e.g., developmental changes in personality or cognition within the adolescent) are
Applying the developmental systems of adolescence: perspectives about research and application
We have argued that developmental systems models stress that reciprocal changes among levels of organization are both products and producers of the reciprocal changes within levels. Not only do we believe that a focus on process, particularly on the process involved in the changing relations between individuals and their contexts, is at the cutting edge of contemporary developmental theory and, as such, is the predominant conceptual frame for research in the study of human development 20, 41,
Conclusions
A developmental systems perspective leads us to recognize that if we are to have an adequate and sufficient science of adolescent development, we must integratively study individual and contextual levels of organization in a relational and temporal manner 20, 37, 49, 120, 121. Anything less will not constitute adequate science. Moreover, if we are to serve America’s youth and families through our science, and if we are to help develop successful policies and programs through our scholarly
Acknowledgements
The preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a grant to R.M.L. from the William T. Grant Foundation.
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