Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Associations Between Positive Development in Late Adolescence and Social, Health, and Behavioral Outcomes in Young Adulthood

  • Published:
Journal of Adult Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Little is known about positive development across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. The purpose of this paper was to use longitudinal data from a large community sample, the Australian Temperament Project, to investigate prospective associations between positive development at age 19–20 years and changes in social, health, and behavioral outcomes at 23–24 years. Data from 890 young adults (61.7% women) were analyzed using path analysis. Emotional health, physical well-being, friendship quality, reduced antisocial behavior, and positive development in young adulthood were predicted by higher levels of positive development in late adolescence, after controlling for baseline levels of respective outcomes, gender, and family socioeconomic status. Parent relationship quality and alcohol use were not significantly predicted. Based on these findings, interventions promoting positive development during adolescence should be investigated as a potential means of yielding positive social, health, and behavioral consequences well into young adulthood.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aquilino, W. S. (1997). From adolescent to young adult: A prospective study of parent-child relations during the transition to adulthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59(3), 670–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006). Alcohol consumption in Australia: A snapshot, 2004–05. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008). National survey of mental health and wellbeing: Summary of results. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Department of Health and Aging.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2003). Australia’s young people: Their health and wellbeing. Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2008). 2007 National drug strategy household survey: Detailed findings. Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, M. E., McCrady, B. S., Johnson, V., & Pandina, R. J. (1999). Problem drinking from young adulthood to adulthood: Patterns, predictors and outcomes. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 60(5), 605–614.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Broom, L., Jones, F. L., & Zubrzycki, J. (1976). Opportunity and attainment in Australia. Canberra: ANU Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brotherton, P. I., Kotler, T., & Hammond, S. B. (1979). Development of an Australian index of social class. Australian Psychologist, 14, 77–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. Bollen & J. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P., Kasen, S., Chen, H., Hartmark, C., & Gordon, K. (2003). Variations in patterns of developmental transitions in the emerging adulthood period. Developmental Psychology, 39, 657–669.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conner, J. M. (2003). Physical activity and well-being. In M. H. Bornstein, L. Davidson, C. L. Keyes, & K. A. Moore (Eds.), Well-being: Positive development across the life course (pp. 65–80). Mahwah, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen, K. W., Koehly, L. M., Anderson, C., Baranowski, T., Prokhorov, A., Basen-Engquist, K., et al. (1999). Gender differences in chronic disease risk behaviors through the transition out of high school. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 17(1), 1–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Silva, M. J., McKenzie, K., Harpham, T., & Huttly, S. R. A. (2005). Social capital and mental illness: A systematic review. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 59(8), 619–627.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, S., & Ageton, S. (1980). Reconciling race and class differences in self-reported and official estimates of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 45, 95–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, T. J., & Longmire, D. R. (1995). National opinion survey of crime and justice. Huntsville, TX: Sam Houston State University, Criminal Justice Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara, T., & Kawachi, I. (2008). Social capital and health. A study of adult twins in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(2), 139–144.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gresham, F. M., & Elliot, S. N. (1990). Manual for the social skills rating system. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gresham, F. M., Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2001). Interpreting outcomes of social skills training for students with high-incidence disabilities. Exceptional Children, 67(3), 331–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, J. D., Kosterman, R., Catalano, R. F., Hill, K. G., & Abbott, R. D. (2005). Promoting positive adult functioning through social development intervention in childhood: Long-term effects from the Seattle social development project. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 159(5), 469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, M. T., Letcher, P., Sanson, A., O’Connor, M., Toumbourou, J., & Olsson, C. (2011). Stability and change in positive development during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(11), 1436–1452.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, M. T., Letcher, P., Sanson, A., Smart, D., & Toumbourou, J. (2009). Positive development in emerging adulthood. Australian Journal of Psychology, 61(2), 89–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huebner, E. S. (2004). Research on assessment of life satisfaction of children and adolescents. Social Indicators Research, 66, 3–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jelicic, H., Bobek, D. L., Phelps, E., Lerner, R. M., & Lerner, J. V. (2007). Using positive youth development to predict contribution and risk behaviors in early adolescence: Findings from the first two waves of the 4-H study of positive youth development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31(3), 263–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosterman, R., Hawkins, J. D., Abbott, R. D., Hill, K. G., Herrenkohl, T. I., & Catalano, R. F. (2005). Measures of positive adult behavior and their relationship to crime and substance use. Prevention Science, 6, 21–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lefkowitz, E. S. (2005). “Things have gotten better”: Developmental changes among emerging adults after the transition to university. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(1), 40–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lei, M., & Lomax, R. G. (2005). The effect of varying degrees of nonnormality in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 12(1), 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M. (2006). Developmental science, developmental systems, and contemporary theories of human development. In R. M. Lerner & W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (6th ed.): Vol 1, Theoretical models of human development (Vol. 1, pp. 1–17). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, E., Owen, N., Salmon, J., Bauman, A., Sallis, J. F., & Lo, S. K. (1999). Insufficiently active Australian college students: Perceived personal, social, and environmental influences. Preventive Medicine, 28(1), 20–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) with the beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 335–343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, G. (1998). Development of a social support scale: An evaluation of psychometric properties. Research on Social Work Practice, 8(5), 564–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maggs, J. L., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2004). Trajectories of alcohol use during the transition to adulthood. Alcohol Research & Health, 28(4), 195–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markstrom, C. A., Sabino, V. M., Turner, B. J., & Berman, R. C. (1997). The psychosocial inventory of ego strengths: Development and validation of a new Eriksonian measure. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26, 705–733.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., Burt, K. B., Roisman, G. I., Obradovic, J., Long, J. D., & Tellegen, A. (2004). Resources and resilience in the transition to adulthood: Continuity and change. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 1071–1094.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., Coatsworth, J. D., Neemann, J., Gest, S. D., Tellegen, A., & Garmezy, N. (1995). The structure and coherence of competence from childhood through adolescence. Child Development, 66(6), 1635–1659.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., & Curtis, W. J. (2000). Integrating competence and psychopathology: Pathways toward a comprehensive scence of adaptation in development. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 529–550.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Monahan, K. C., Steinberg, L., Cauffman, E., & Mulvey, E. P. (2009). Trajectories of antisocial behavior and psychosocial maturity from adolescence to young adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 45(6), 1654–1668.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, K. A., & Glei, D. (1995). Taking the plunge: An examination of positive youth development. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10, 15–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, R. S., & Roth, D. L. (1997). Perceived benefits of and barriers to exercise and stage of exercise adoption in young adults. Health Psychology, 16(3), 277–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oesterle, S., Hill, K. G., Hawkins, J. D., & Abbott, R. D. (2008). Positive functioning and alcohol-use disorders from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 69(1), 100–111.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Park, N. (2004). Character strengths and positive youth development. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Special Issue: Positive Development: Realizing the Potential of Youth, 591, 40–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, G. R., Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (1991). General and relationship-based perceptions of social support: Are two constructs better than one? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(6), 1028–1039.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pokhrel, P., Sussman, S., Rohrbach, L. A., & Sun, P. (2007). Prospective associations of social self-control with drug use among youth from regular and alternative high schools. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 2, 22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prior, M., Sanson, A., Smart, D., & Oberklaid, F. (2000). Pathways from infancy to adolescence: Australian Temperament Project 1983–2000. Melbourne, Victoria: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roisman, G. I., Masten, A. S., Coatsworth, D., & Tellegen, A. (2004). Salient and emerging developmental tasks in the transition to adulthood. Child Development, 75, 123–133.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D. A., Gurney, R. M., & Moore, S. M. (1981). From trust to intimacy: A new inventory for examining Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10, 525–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacker, A., & Cable, N. (2006). Do adolescent leisure-time physical activities foster health and well-being in adulthood? Evidence from two British birth cohorts. European Journal of Public Health, 16(3), 332–336.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Muller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulenberg, J. E., Bryant, A. L., & O’Malley, P. M. (2004a). Taking hold of some kind of life: How developmental tasks relate to trajectories of well-being during the transition to adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 1119–1140.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schulenberg, J. E., Sameroff, A. J., & Cicchetti, D. (2004b). The transition to adulthood as a critical juncture in the course of psychopathology and mental health. Development and Psychopathology, 16(4), 799–806.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Seiffge-Krenke, I., & Gelhaar, T. (2008). Does successful attainment of developmental tasks lead to happiness and success in later developmental tasks? A test of Havighurst’s (1948) theses. Journal of Adolescence, 31(1), 33–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, A. M., Lansford, J. E., & Volling, B. L. (2006). Sibling relationships and best friendships in young adulthood: Warmth, conflict, and well-being. Personal Relationships, 13(2), 151–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skaletz, C., & Sieffge-Krenke, I. (2010). Models of developmental regulation in emerging adulthood and links to symptomatology. New Directions for Youth Development, 130, 71–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smart, D., & Sanson, A. (2003). Social competence in young adulthood, its nature and antecedents. Family Matters, 64, 4–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenbacka, M. (2000). The role of competence factors in reducing the future risk of drug use among young Swedish men. Addiction, 95(10), 1573–1581.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, W. (2001). Measuring social capital: Towards a theoretically informed measurement framework for researching social capital in family and community life. (Working Paper No. 24). Melbourne, Victoria: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

  • Stone, W., & Hughes, J. (2002). Social capital: Empirical meaning and measurement validity. (Working Paper No. 27). Melbourne, Victoria: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

  • Sweet, J. A., & Bumpass, L. L. (2002). The national survey of families and households—waves 1, 2, and 3: Data description and documentation. Madison, WI: Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toumbourou, J. W., Beyers, J. M., Catalano, R. F., Hawkins, J. D., Arthur, M. W., Evans-Whipp, T., et al. (2005). Youth alcohol and other drug use in the United States and Australia: a cross-national comparison of three state-wide samples. Drug and Alcohol Review, 24(6), 515–523.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, R., & McKenzie, K. (2005). Social capital and psychiatry: Review of the literature. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 13, 71–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wyn, J., & Woodman, D. (2006). Generation, youth and social change in Australia. Journal of Youth Studies, 9(5), 495–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zubrick, S., & Lawrence, D. (2006). Testing the reliability of a measure of Aboriginal children’s mental health. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The ATP study is managed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and is a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Royal Children’s Hospital, and the Australian Institute of Family Studies; further information available at www.aifs.com.au/atp. Funding for this analysis was provided by a project grant from the Australian Research Council (Principal Investigators Ann Sanson, Craig Olsson, and Diana Smart). We acknowledge all collaborators who have contributed to the Australian Temperament Project, especially Diana Smart and Margot Prior and Frank Oberklaid. We would also like to thank all families involved in the ATP for their time and invaluable contribution to the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Flemington Rd, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia

    Mary T. Hawkins, Kristi-Ann Villagonzalo, Ann V. Sanson, John W. Toumbourou, Primrose Letcher & Craig A. Olsson

  2. School of Psychology, Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing Research, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    John W. Toumbourou & Craig A. Olsson

  3. Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    John W. Toumbourou & Craig A. Olsson

  4. Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    John W. Toumbourou & Craig A. Olsson

Authors
  1. Mary T. Hawkins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kristi-Ann Villagonzalo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ann V. Sanson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. John W. Toumbourou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Primrose Letcher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Craig A. Olsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary T. Hawkins.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 2.

Table 2 Comparison of retained sample and original cohort on characteristics at recruitment in 1983
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hawkins, M.T., Villagonzalo, KA., Sanson, A.V. et al. Associations Between Positive Development in Late Adolescence and Social, Health, and Behavioral Outcomes in Young Adulthood. J Adult Dev 19, 88–99 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-011-9137-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-011-9137-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation