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…

This article proposes a conceptual model concerning mental retardation and family well-being during the transition from late adolescence into young adulthood. It suggests that success in residential, vocational, and social realms will influence family well-being directly, while individual characteristics, environment and culture, and family…

This study examined the importance of personality characteristics to identity formation using data from Terman's longitudinal study of high IQ children. Results indicate that positive traits such as perseverance, purposiveness, desire to excel, and self-confidence are conducive to a successful identity formation and to the adoption of the…

Ties Native American Medicine Wheel teachings on the cycle of life to Eric Erickson's work on the eight developmental stages: trust, autonomy, initiative, accomplishment, identity, intimacy, generativity, and integrity. To have healthy communities, people need to move successfully through these stages. Knowing about these stages can help a person…

Examines changes in attitude toward traditional morality accompanying the change from adolescence to adulthood. Finds that while the transition to adulthood involved changes in attitude, these shifts were not consistent in nature. (FMW)