Relational Developmental Systems Metatheory Research Articles

Profiles of Youth Citizenship: A Cluster Analysis of Ethical Factors, Demographics, and Problem-Solving Disposition

Youth have the capacity to drive positive change in their communities through active and engaged citizenship (AEC). Teen leadership programs provide youth with opportunities to develop the skills necessary to participate as partners in community problem-solving efforts. Situated in relational developmental systems metatheory, this study examined how cluster membership based upon demographic characteristics, ethical factors, and problem-solving disposition impacted AEC. The findings indicated significant differences between clusters for AEC, civic duty, and civic skills. These differences were predominately observed through membership in long-term or short-term leadership programs, gender, enrollment in honors/AP courses, ethical views, and problem-solving disposition. Youth leadership practitioners should consider avenues for infusing problem-solving and character development in gender inclusive program curricula to increase the likelihood for contributing.

Social Media Literacy to Confront Far-Right Content: Saying “No” to Neutrality

Current conceptualizations of media literacy do not explicitly state that users should be able to identify and reject hateful, manipulative far-right content. We highlight important principles of relational developmental systems metatheory that are integral to our proposed model of anti-oppressive social media literacy. We critique current theories of digital media literacy for their political neutrality or lack of active opposition and offer a value- and action-based anti-oppressive framework for social media literacy in pursuit of social justice. We propose a model of anti-oppressive social media literacy in which we outline three potential orientation outcomes: rejection, endorsement, and ambivalence. We describe the implications and potential developmental pathways of each of these orientations in response to far-right content. We also highlight multiple layers of bidirectional mutually influential individual-context relations that may influence the development of social media users’ orientation to far-right content online. In conclusion, we discuss strengths, limitations and future directions for studying our proposed theory of anti-oppressive social media literacy.

Using insights from personality dynamics to move developmental metatheory forward: Integrating insights from relational developmental systems metatheory and whole trait theory

AbstractDevelopmental science benefits from a rich tradition of conceptual frameworks, such as Relational Developmental Systems metatheory, that seek to understand the individual ⇔ context relations that promote thriving across the lifespan. However, there are substantive methodological challenges associated with capturing individual‐level and contextual variables, let alone the dynamics between them. These challenges have encouraged the perpetuation of simple models that focus on either individuals or their contexts alone, or as parallel processes with little attention to the dynamics of the relations. In this paper, we engage in cross‐disciplinary dialogue between developmental and personality science (adding to recent work being done by those in personality development) and highlight the benefits that developmental science can reap by adopting several recent advancements in dynamic personality theory and the methods used to test them. In addition, we discuss what personality science might gain from applying a developmental lens to their research questions. Such integration may also help personality scientists better understand how developmental theory can complement their methods for understanding the development of individual differences over time. Ultimately, the two fields can use their similar missions of understanding the development of individual differences in order to support one another in pursuing good science.

Forgiveness as a character strength: Toward a developmental model and research agenda

ABSTRACT Forgiveness involves a shift from negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to positive ones after a transgression. Previous research supports the benefits of forgiving, particularly for physical and emotional health. However, debates within the character development literatures exist regarding whether forgiveness is a strength that benefits all parties involved in the transgression. For example, forgiveness is often linked to pardoning, condoning, or justifying bad behavior and forswearing justice. Nietzsche regarded forgiveness as a weakness, and as an undesirable attribute or vice; Gandhi, however, believed forgiveness reflected good moral character and virtuous behavior. I propose a relational developmental systems (RDS)-based model of forgiveness as a character strength that benefits both individuals and contexts following a transgression. I situate forgiveness within RDS metatheory and character development and assess forgiveness across two contexts: school bullying and criminal behavior. Implications for research, education, and intervention promoting adaptive social relationships and thriving are discussed.

Understanding child executive functioning through use of the Bornstein specificity principle

A focus on intraindividual change and person-specific pathways is a necessary starting point for developmental science inquiries. However, research often relies on ergodicity-based assumptions about group averages and other variable-centered approaches. Using ideas associated with relational developmental systems metatheory, such as the Bornstein Specificity Principle, we re-examine the ergodicity assumption using Executive Functioning (EF) data from the Measures and Methods Across the Developmental Continuum Project. Participants from Grades 4 to 12 (M age = 14.60) completed three behavioral EF tasks (i.e., working memory, response inhibition, and cognitive flexibility). The final analytic sample included 64 participants who provided data on 30 measurement occasions. Intraindividual and interindividual EF latent constructs appeared to be different, and we identified a wide range of person-specific EF trajectories. These findings challenge the ergodicity assumption framing variable- and group-oriented approaches to individual development. This study demonstrates the feasibility of collecting intensive longitudinal data to understand youth development on an individual level as an alternative to immediate data aggregation and as means to illuminate the use of the specificity principle in understanding human development and in applications pertinent to enhancing the lives of diverse youth across specific times and places in their specific developmental pathways.

Exploring Religiousness and Hope: Examining the Roles of Spirituality and Social Connections among Salvadoran Youth

Given the strong link between religiousness and hope, we sought to further understand the relations of these potentially powerful resources for youth living in adversity. Although existing research suggests that religiousness might be associated with adolescent hope via spirituality and social connections, few studies have tested models that integrate both. Thus, as applied psychologists, the aim of this paper was to test a theoretical model in the lives of youth. Drawing on a Relational Developmental Systems metatheory, we sought to further elucidate the relations between religiousness and hope and to explore how involvement in the faith-based youth-development organization, Compassion International (CI), might facilitate character strengths like hope. In order to do so, we tested whether religiousness was directly and indirectly (via spirituality and social connection) related to hopeful future expectations, using a sample of 9–15-year-olds in El Salvador (M = 11.6 years; n = 888), half of whom were involved in CI and the other half of whom were a locally matched counterfactual sample. Structural equation models revealed that higher levels of religiousness were directly and indirectly associated with higher levels of hope in relation to higher levels of spirituality and social connections among these youth. CI-supported youth reported significantly higher levels of religiousness than the counterfactual sample. Findings suggest that the relationship between religiousness and hope is best understood when it incorporates youth’s spirituality and social connections associated with religion.

Frontiers in Theory-Predicated Research in Youth Development: A Commentary

The field of youth development sits at the frontier of new opportunities for research and practice. These opportunities are enabled by innovations in theory and in theory-inspired research methods. Framed by relational developmental systems metatheory, dynamic systems models of youth development emphasize that every young person has the potential to change positively by aligning specific individual strengths and contextual resources that, together, can optimize the life paths of a young person. The methods linked to these theoretical models combine to help identify the specific links between an individual and his or her context that may maximize thriving across the adolescent decade. The evidence derived from theory-predicated use of these methods may be used to create innovations in youth development programs and policies that promote lives of personal thriving and social contribution among the diverse young people of our world.

Toward Theoretical and Methodological Innovations in the Evidence Base for Family Policy: A Commentary

Ooms () points to the importance of having a conceptual framework that would enable family policy scholars to resolve past tensions in the field and create an opportunity to advance research and its applications. We discuss that a now‐predominant metatheoretical orientation in the study of human development, relational developmental systems metatheory, provides concepts that enable issues in the field of family policy (e.g., individualism vs. familism) to be resolved and also to point to theory‐predicated methodological innovations advancing research pertinent to family policy. This linkage among metatheory, theory, and method may enable family policy scholars to generate an evidence base about how to enhance the quality of life of diverse families.

Enhancing Theory and Methodology in the International Study of Positive Youth Development: A Commentary

Enacting good science in pursuing the international study of positive youth development (PYD) requires using sound developmental theory to formulate questions that are tested through employing rigorous, change-sensitive measures, designs, and data analyses that are aimed at describing, explaining, or optimizing thriving among the diverse youth of the majority world. We discuss the usefulness of theoretical models derived from relational developmental systems metatheory in framing such science, and we describe innovations in methodology that enable the specific pathways of development of majority-world youth to be understood and enhanced. Literature review and theoretical commentary. We make recommendations for creating progress in the ways that the international study of PYD may contribute to policies and programs promoting lives of personal thriving and social contributions among the diverse youth of our world. Advances in the international study of PYD rest upon the use of non-reductionist, dynamic, relational theories of human development in the conceptualization of research and upon the use of change-sensitive measures, research designs, and data analysis procedures in the studies derived from such theoretical conceptualizations.

Character Development Within the Relational Developmental Systems Metatheory: A View of the Issues

At this writing, the study of character development is burgeoning, and this special issue provides an overview of why and how the relational developmental systems metatheory frames such growth, particularly growth in theory-predicated research and applications aimed at describing, explaining, and optimizing the development of positive attributes of character (i.e., character virtues). The empirical reports related to character development that are presented in this special issue are all framed by relational developmental systems–based ideas and, together, provide information about the mutually beneficial individual  context relations that are involved in character virtue development across the first three decades of life. A commentary discusses the implications of these studies for the enhancement of relational developmental systems–based character development research, for programs aimed at promoting different facets of character, and for the future growth of a developmental science of character virtues development.