Transitions and Turning Points in Developmental Psychopathology: As applied to the Age Span between Childhood and Mid-adulthood

Abstract

In recent years, several studies have produced data showing apparent changes in early adult life of psychological life trajectories, changes that have been labelled "turning points". The concept, and the phenomena that gave rise to it, are critically reviewed in relation to developmental psychopathology. It is concluded that a wide range of experiences have been associated with such changes; that the experiences associated with them span those over which the individual has no control and those subject to individual choice and actions; that the key features associated with change usually involve particular qualities of experiences as they impinge on subsegments of the population (rather than universal life phase transitions); that the experiences are not synonymous with stressful life events; and that changes in life trajectory may reflect genetic programming or internal biological alterations rather than external happenings. Also, major life experiences may accentuate, rather than alter, individual characteristics. It is concluded that turning point effects represent a heterogeneous range of lasting changes in psychological functioning. They are important because their investigation may shed important light on developmental processes. They do not represent a simple mechanism and hence there is no hypothesis about a particular process to test, but their study is nevertheless crucial for an understanding of developmental continuities and discontinuities. Some of the key methodological issues in their investigation are reviewed.