Though Erikson recognized identity development as a lifelong project, most research on identity has focused on adolescents and emerging adults. Less is known about how the identity formed in adolescence is maintained and adapted across the adult life span. The purpose of the present paper is to provide a conceptual review and elaboration of…

Little research has examined changes in personal identity over different periods of adult development. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to target these changes through the characterization of the main dimensions in self-defining memories (SDMs; thematic content, specificity, integrative meaning, tension, contamination/redemption,…

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) youth and young adults (YYAs) have poorer mental health outcomes than their cisgender, heterosexual peers in large part due to multilevel stigmatization and minority stress. This was exacerbated by psychological stressors stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic;…

The purpose of this literature review was to develop the profound living concept through a synthesis of themes extracted from scholarly literature. The problem encountered was a lack of theory and depth in the concept of profound living. The methods used in this study were a thorough literature review in which concepts were extracted from related…

Self-awareness is often seen as a critical component in leadership and career success, and has therefore become a feature in MBAs, leadership development, and management education. It has become a popular "buzzword" in management literature, yet when reviewing this literature, there appears to be no consistent definition of the…

The transition to college is a critical determinant of student success in higher education. Increasingly, students' parents play a key role in supporting their sons and daughters as they adjust to the academic and social demands of university. However, little research has been conducted into parents' experiences of their child's transition to…

Higher education students, formally adults, are nevertheless subject to adultism. The co-authors of this article--the director of the Students as Teachers and Learners (SaLT) program and three undergraduates who have worked in pedagogical partnership with faculty through SaLT--discuss how this program counters adultism on three levels:…

Shadow work may result in increased awareness and emotional and behavioral changes that influence the quality of life in the adult student. Using a semi-clinical, semi-structured, qualitative interview with 20 adult learners, this study investigated the role of shadow work following Kegan and Lahey's (2009) Immunity to Change (ITC) process in…

Most research and theory on identity integration focuses on adolescents and young adults under age 30, and relatively little is known about how identity adjusts to major life events later in life. The purpose of the present study was to operationalize and investigate "identity disruption," or a loss of temporal identity integration…

Early adulthood is one of the important milestones considered within lifelong development in the relevant literature. Adulthood is examined through various theories; however, universality of many of these is still being discussed. One of these theories is Levinson's theory of life structure. Thus, the current research aims to examine the extent to…

Views on aging have been shown to predict the occurrence of events related to physical health in previous studies. Extending these findings, we investigated the relation between aging-related future self-views and life events in a longitudinal study across a range of different life domains. Participants (N = 593, age range 30-80 years at…

Youth development is a cornerstone of the YouthBuild program, which provides job skills training, academic support, counseling, and leadership opportunities to low-income, out-of-school young adults. This report presents findings from two separate research efforts that shed light on the process of youth transformation and identity development in…

This article focusses on later life learning in Neighbourhood Houses in Victoria, Australia, amidst a backdrop of neoliberal education policies impacting on Adult Community Education (ACE) in Australia. This empirical research was conducted in the state of Victoria and charts the learning of older learners (referred to in this article as later…

Narrative learning is strongly allied with transformational learning and adult development (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007), given that it creates context for adult meaning making. Through the use of narrative writing, adult students have the opportunity to engage multiple aspects of learning. Many colleges and universities allow…

This study examined longitudinal changes in coping and defense mechanisms in an age- and gender-stratified sample of 392 European American adults. Nonlinear age-related changes were found for the coping mechanisms of sublimation and suppression and the defense mechanisms of intellectualization, doubt, displacement, and regression. The change…