Studies of reward effects on behavior in adolescence typically rely on performance metrics that confound myriad cognitive and non-cognitive processes, making it challenging to determine which process is impacted by reward. The present longitudinal study applied the diffusion decision model to a reward task to isolate the influence of reward on…

Traditionally, children have generally been considered as developmentally immature and unable to experience spirituality. However, more recent studies seem to indicate the opposite. This article aims to: (1) explore how religiosity and spirituality evolve in the developing person; (2) describe the perceptions of children about God; (3) explore how…

The purpose of this study was to address the role of social comparison in determining individual development by exploring the relationship of four types of social comparison with academic persistence-procrastination and subjective well-being among Chinese adolescents (n = 530, M[subscript age] = 14.59) from both variable- and person-centered…

Youth participation in community-based, structured out-of-school time programs (OST) has been found to promote positive developmental outcomes by providing youth with resources to build interpersonal relationships and essential life skills. The increasing prevalence and multiplicity of youth participation in these activities leads us to expand the…

It is well established that positive youth development (PYD) programs improve adolescent psycho-social wellbeing; however, it remains unclear if PYD programs developed for able-bodied adolescents can be implemented with adolescents with disabilities in low-resource settings. We conducted a pragmatic trial of an evidence-based PYD program…

Differentiation of intelligence refers to changes in the structure of intelligence that depend on individuals' level of general cognitive ability (ability differentiation hypothesis) or age (developmental differentiation hypothesis). The present article aimed to investigate ability differentiation, developmental differentiation, and their…

This study adopts a cultural ecological perspective to examine how cumulative effects of external transcultural and cultural strengths are related to baseline and changes in three markers of Mexican-origin adolescents' self-growth (i.e., resilience, life meaning, and discipline). Using a three-wave longitudinal data set (5 years) of 604…

The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental course and implications of the personality metatraits ego resiliency and ego control across the first 3 decades of life. The sample consisted of 139 participants who were assessed 9 times between ages 2 and 33. Participants completed measures of ego resiliency, ego control, Big Five…

There is an increasing appreciation that, in order to prepare learners for success in life, they require a holistic education providing not only academic skills, but also psychosocial competencies (Zins & Elias, 2006). Outdoor adventure education (OAE) shows potential as a way of developing these life skills, which are not easy to incorporate…

An emerging area of research has focused on understanding how the group dynamics of a sport team influence positive youth development (PYD). The identities that youth form through their membership in sport teams (i.e., social identities) have been found to influence teammate behavior and team performance. Yet, minimal work exists on social…

Identity formation is a main adolescent psychosocial developmental task. The complex interconnection between different processes that are at the basis of one's identity is a research and applied intervention priority. In this context, the identity style model focuses on social-cognitive strategies (i.e., informational, normative, and…

Instability and unpredictability of the present stage of social development make the study of social and psychological adjustment of personality to the social environment a highly topical issue. The article presents the results of an empirical research on social personality adaptation. Evident is the close relations between social and…

In Western cultures, life narratives are typically expected to recount the narrator's life from birth to the present. Disparate autobiographical memories need to be integrated into a more or less coherent story, which is facilitated by an overarching temporal macrostructure. The temporal macrostructure consists of elaborated beginnings that…

The importance of the study of social education of the individual as an integral process covering all stages of human development, supported by factors of modern development of children, adolescents, youth in the conditions of reforming education. Currently, the scientific literature has accumulated a sufficient fund of theoretical knowledge,…

Research on contemplative practices (e.g., mindfulness or compassion training) is growing rapidly in the clinical, health and neuro-sciences, but almost none of this research takes an explicitly developmental life span perspective. At present, we know rather little about the naturalistic development of mindfulness or compassion in children and…