Developmental relationships as the active ingredient: A unifying working hypothesis of “what works” across intervention settings.
Abstract
Developmental relationships are characterized by reciprocal human interactions that embody an enduring emotional attachment, progressively more complex patterns of joint activity, and a balance of power that gradually shifts from the developed person in favor of the developing person. The working hypothesis of this article is that developmental relationships constitute the active ingredient of effective interventions serving at-risk children and youth across settings. In the absence of developmental relationships, other intervention elements yield diminished or minimal returns. Scaled-up programs and policies serving children and youth often fall short of their potential impact when their designs or implementation drift toward manipulating other "inactive" ingredients (e.g., incentive, accountability, curricula) instead of directly promoting developmental relationships. Using empirical studies as case examples, this study demonstrates that the presence or absence of developmental relationships distinguishes effective and ineffective interventions for diverse populations across developmental settings. The conclusion is that developmental relationships are the foundational metric with which to judge the quality and forecast the impact of interventions for at-risk children and youth. It is both critical and possible to give foremost considerations to whether program, practice, and policy decisions promote or hinder developmental relationships among those who are served and those…
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Positive developmental relationships are characterized by warmth, consistency, attunement, reciprocity, and joint activity, including the sharing and transfer of power and the scaffolding of learning.
“Positive developmental relationships are characterized by warmth, consistency, attunement, reciprocity, and joint activity, including the sharing and transfer of power and the scaffolding of learning”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context<sup>1</sup> (2019) · cites this paper as Li & Julian, 2012
Positive developmental relationships between students and teachers are at the core of CFL.
“At the core of CFL are the presence of positive developmental relationships (defined in the earlier section on relationships and attachment; Li & Julian, 2012) between students and teachers.”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context<sup>1</sup> (2019) · cites this paper as Li & Julian, 2012
The child-adult relationship is commonly recognized as the key to providing effective interventions.
“The child-adult relationship is commonly recognized as the key to providing effective interventions.”
From AN EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAM MODEL FOR FACILITATING THERAPEUTIC RESPONSES TO PAIN-BASED BEHAVIOR IN RESIDENTIAL CARE (2019) · cites this paper as Li & Julian, 2012
Relational factors are critical mechanisms of change in most programs and services for young people.
“Relational factors have become widely understood to be critical mechanisms of change in most programs and services for young people”
From Improving relationship quality in group care settings: The impact of implementing the CARE model (2020) · cites this paper as Li & Julian, 2012
The model is rooted in the core idea that a critical pathway for healing and growth among children in group care is through experiencing a consistent pattern of positive, reciprocal interactions with supportive adults.
“The model is rooted in the core idea that a critical pathway for healing and growth to occur among children in group care is through experiencing a consistent pattern of positive, reciprocal interactions with supportive adults”
From Improving relationship quality in group care settings: The impact of implementing the CARE model (2020) · cites this paper as Li & Julian, 2012
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“Li and Julian (2012) operationalize “developmental relationships” as having four characteristics: enduring emotional attachment, reciprocity, progressive complexity of joint activity, and a power balance that allows for transferability to new settings.”
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“At the core of CFL are the presence of positive developmental relationships (defined in the earlier section on relationships and attachment; Li & Julian, 2012) between students and teachers.”
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- Authors
- Li, J., & Julian, M. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Venue
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
- Published
- 2012-04
- Volume
- 82
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 157-166
- ISSN
- 0002-9432 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0025
- OpenAlex
- W1996413764
- Cited by
- 247
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 20.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Keywords
- developmental relationships, intervention effectiveness, bidirectional relationship, emotional attachment, joint activity, power balance, program quality, child and youth services, working hypothesis
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Child, Child Development, House Calls, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Mental Health Services, Models, Psychological, Schools, Program Evaluation, Orphanages, Adolescent Development
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