Proximal and Distal Influences on Development: The Model of Developmental Adaptation

Abstract

Theories of stress and adaptation in adulthood typically focus on recent influences on developmental change. What needs more attention in developmental studies is a stronger emphasis on the relationship between proximal and distal experiences in explaining developmental outcome. To address the need for combining past with present influences, we present a model of developmental adaptation that explains the process of adaptation to life stress on the basis of adverse childhood events and paternal care during childhood and internal and external resources available for adaptation to current life events. The appraisal of past and current events, as well as coping behaviors, are hypothesized to influence the health and well-being of individuals. The benefit of this model is that it systematically combines biographic (“distal”) variables with the current life situation (“proximal influences”) in an effort to explain developmental changes across the life span.