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Although developmental science has always been evolving, these times of fast-paced and profound social and scientific changes easily lead to disorienting fragmentation rather than coherent scientific advances. What directions should developmental science pursue to meaningfully address real-world problems that impact human development throughout the lifespan? What conceptual or policy shifts are needed to steer the field in these directions? The present manifesto is proposed by a group of scholars from various disciplines and perspectives within developmental science to spark conversations and action plans in response to these questions. After highlighting four critical content domains that merit concentrated and often urgent research efforts, two issues regarding "how" we do developmental science and "what for" are outlined. This manifesto concludes with five proposals, calling for "integrative," "inclusive," "transdisciplinary," "transparent," and "actionable" developmental science. Specific recommendations, prospects, pitfalls, and challenges to reach this goal are discussed.

During emerging adulthood, family relationships remain salient. This study examined, from a gender perspective, continuity/discontinuity and stability/instability in family relationships, in a two-time repeated-measures study with Spanish emerging adult college students. It also analyzed the implications of the quality of parent–child relationships for emerging adults' psychological distress. A sample of 400 Spanish college students aged between 18 and 29 years was followed across two time points (M = 20.31 and SD = 2.04 at Time 1; M = 23.66 and SD = 2.08 at Time 2), completing a self-report measure of parenting behaviors and psychological distress. Results indicated continuity in family social support, parental autonomy support, and psychological control; however, they also revealed discontinuity, with parental warmth, parental involvement, and behavioral control decreasing over time. Results also indicated high rank-order stability in family relationships, seen globally. Regression analyses showed that, only for men, parental involvement at T1 consistently predicted psychological distress at T2, as well as changes in psychological distress between T1 and T2. This study provides data supporting the idea that both change and continuity exist in family relationships. It also expands on the scarce research focused on this developmental context during emerging adulthood in Spain and provides support for designing preventive parenting interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging adulthood (EA) is a critical stage of life to develop and sustain a healthy lifestyle, which is also a time of vulnerability to poor physical and mental health outcomes. In this study, we conducted a path analysis (N = 1326) to examine associations among four dimensions of EA, levels of regular physical activity (PA), self-control, MPA tendency and irrational procrastination. Results found: 1) higher levels of PA predicted both MPA tendency (β = -0.08, 95% CI: -0.11 to -0.06, p < 0.001) and irrational procrastination (β = -0.01, 95% CI: -0.17 to -0.008, p < 0.01) indirectly via self-control; 2) Instability (β = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.18, p < 0.01) and Responsibility (β = -0.06, 95% CI: -0.10 to -0.08, p = 0.03) exerted direct effects on irrational procrastination and Instability also indirectly predicted irrational procrastination via MPA tendency (β = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.05, p < 0.01). These findings proved that perceived features of EA are linked to behavioral problems and supported that regular PA plays a crucial role to protect mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiences of emerging adulthood may vary in different historical and cultural contexts. Little research has been dedicated to how non college students view adulthood in developing countries. Currently, millions of young people are migrating from rural villages to industrial cities in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate conceptions of adulthood among Chinese migrant women workers, using mixed methods. One hundred and nineteen women workers (aged 18-29 years) from a factory in Guangdong, China, completed a questionnaire of markers for adulthood. Then, 15 of them were interviewed regarding their understanding of the transition to adulthood. The results showed that the majority of the young Chinese migrant women workers believed they had reached adulthood in some ways but not others. Married women and women with children were more likely to perceive themselves as adults, even controlling for age. "Learn to care for parents," "settled into a long-term career" and "become capable of caring for children" were ranked as the most important markers for adulthood. Participants were least likely to feel adult when they were with their parents. The migrant women workers' conceptions of adulthood reflected the traditional Chinese emphasis on family obligations, social relations and role transitions.

Responds to the comments of LoSchiavo F. M. and Shatz M. A.; Webster G. D., Nichols A. L., and Schember T. O.; Stroebe W. and Nijstad B.; and Haeffel et al. on the author's original article regarding the assertion that American psychology focuses too narrowly on Americans while neglecting the other 95% of the world's population. The author indicates that the four comments were well chosen in that they represent quite different reactions to his article. In this rejoinder the author addresses the issues raised in each of the comments, first the two supporting comments and then the two opposing comments. Following this, he addresses the more general problem that cuts across the comments: American psychology's dominant philosophy of science. (Contains 1 footnote.)

This article proposes that psychological research published in APA journals focuses too narrowly on Americans, who comprise less than 5% of the world's population. The result is an understanding of psychology that is incomplete and does not adequately represent humanity. First, an analysis of articles published in six premier APA journals is presented, showing that the contributors, samples, and editorial leadership of the journals are predominantly American. Then, a demographic profile of the human population is presented to show that the majority of the world's population lives in conditions vastly different from the conditions of Americans, underlining doubts of how well American psychological research can be said to represent humanity. The reasons for the narrowness of American psychological research are examined, with a focus on a philosophy of science that emphasizes fundamental processes and ignores or strips away cultural context. Finally, several suggestions for broadening the scope of American psychology are offered. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures and 2 footnotes.)

Many myths about adolescence have been refuted by research, but similar myths have grown up in recent years around emerging adulthood. This essay addresses three of those myths: the claim that they suffer from a normative "crisis"; the accusations that they are "selfish"; and their alleged reluctance to "grow up" and become adults. For each issue, evidence is presented showing that the myths exaggerate or falsify the true experience of emerging adults.

The study of emerging adulthood--the prolonged transition to adulthood extending into the 20s--is a rapidly growing area of research. Although identity issues are prominent during this period, the role of personal agency and individualization in the identity formation process during these years is not well understood. This study examines three psychological aspects of identity formation (style, status, and process) in relation to personal agency associated with the individualization process. Structural equation modeling analyses suggest that higher levels of agency are positively related to exploration and flexible commitment, unrelated to conformity, and negatively related to avoidance. Cluster analysis was used to examine and support a theorized polarity between developmental and default forms of individualization. Replicated across three U.S. ethnic groups, the results suggest that emerging adults utilize agentic capacities to varying degrees, and that the degree of agency utilized is directly related to the coherence of the emerging adult's identity.

In this study, 229 high school students and 261 college students evaluated the acceptability of lying to parents under 19 different circumstances where a person's motive for lying differed. Students also indicated the frequency with which they had lied to their parents about diverse issue such as friends, dates, and money. Results indicated that adolescents and emerging adults quite commonly lied to their parents, and that in part they framed lying to parents as a way to assert the right to autonomy. Emerging adults were less accepting of lying and reported less frequent lying, compared to adolescents. Results also showed the association of sex, personality (self-restraint and tolerance of deviance), and family environment (control and cohesion) upon adolescents' and emerging adults' acceptance of lying to parents and lying behavior.

Compared conceptions of the transition to adulthood among African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and white, European Americans. Found wide support for individualistic criteria for adulthood among the three ethnic groups, but each held culturally distinctive criteria, and all three endorsed collectivistic criteria more widely than European Americans did. Participants who were older, from lower SES families, and had become parents were more likely to feel they had reached adulthood. (Author/KB)

Examines the influence of globalization on psychological functioning, describing globalization worldwide and its psychological consequences. Notes that most people now develop bicultural identities that combine local identity with global culture-related identity. Identity confusion is increasing among young people in non-western cultures because of globalization. Some people join self-selected cultures to maintain identities separate from the global culture. (SM)

Examined 12- to 17-year-olds' responses to cigarette advertisements. Found that a substantial proportion of adolescents, especially smokers, liked ads for youth brands and believed they made smoking more appealing. Ads for Marlboro brand and new Camel and Winston ads were especially attractive to adolescents. Few adolescents liked the adult brand ad, and few believed it made smoking more appealing. (Author/KB)

Despite emerging evidence of a link between parental involvement and student-athletes' (SA) experiences, and the desire for educational programming for parents of these SAs, previous research has been limited to the Division I level. This has prevented the ability to inform, develop, and deliver parent programming across the NCAA's diverse membership. The present study was designed to descriptively assess SA reports of parental involvement (i.e., support, contact, academic engagement, athletic engagement) across NCAA Division I, II, and III member institutions and examine the potential impact of this involvement on SAs' experiences (i.e., academic self-efficacy, athletic satisfaction, well-being, individuation). Participants were 455 SAs (53% female; 81% Caucasian; Mage = 19.81, SD = 1.65) from DI (30%), DII (37%), and DIII (33%) institutions, who completed an online survey with items assessing parental involvement and SA experiences. Regarding academic classification, 32% were freshmen, 24% sophomores, 22% juniors, and 22% seniors. Results provide novel evidence for an absence of division-wide differences in average levels of involvement and no variability in links between involvement and SA experiences across divisions. Results complement and extend previous research by offering a clearer understanding of differential associations between involvement and SAs' experiences regardless of division, notably that involvement bolstered well-being but also strongly detracted from individuation. Findings highlight the importance of developing programs to promote positive and developmentally-appropriate parental involvement across the spectrum of intercollegiate athletics, especially given the absence of evidence-based resources presently offered by the NCAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores views of the future among young adults age 21-28 years, focusing on quality of life, financial well-being, career achievements, and personal relationships. Data from interviews and questionnaires show a sharp distinction between how respondents view their personal futures (with high hopes) and how they view their generation's perspective on the future (the Generation X cynicism and pessimism). (SM)

Proposes emerging adulthood as a new conception of development from the late teens through the twenties, presenting a theoretical background, then offering evidence supporting the idea that emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity exploration. Explains how emerging adulthood differs from young adulthood. Outlines a cultural context for the idea of emerging adulthood. (SM)