Applied Developmental Science, Concepts of

Applied developmental science (ADS) is scholarship that is predicated on a developmental systems theoretical perspective (Lerner, 2002). Within this context, Fisher et al. (1993) summarized the five conceptual components that, together, characterize the core principles of ADS. Taken together, these conceptual principles make ADS a unique approach to understanding and promoting positive development.

The first conceptual component of ADS is the notion of the temporality, or historical embeddedness, of change pertinent to individuals, families, institutions, and communities. Some components of the context or of individuals remain stable over time, and other components may change historically. Because phenomena of human behavior and development vary historically, one must assess whether generalizations across time periods are legitimate. Thus, temporality has important implications for research design, service provision, and program evaluation.

Elder's (1974) research on the children of the Great Depression provides an important example of this first conceptual component of ADS. For instance, Elder found that experiencing the Great Depression during one's childhood affected adult views of the family and issues about economic security. Accordingly, without a design that embeds a person's development within a historical context, the nature of the challenges he or she faced would not be adequately understood, and programs and policies could not be most effectively designed.

Interventions are aimed at altering the developmental trajectory of within-person changes. To accomplish this aim, the second conceptual feature of ADS is that applied developmental scientists take into account interindividual differences, or diversity, among, for instance, racial, ethnic, social class, and gender groups, and intraindividual changes, such as those associated with pubertal maturation or with aging.

An example of the importance of diversity for intervention can be found in the research of Magnusson and Stattin (1998). The impact of puberty on delinquency and norm-breaking behavior varies in relation to individual differences in both timing of puberty and the nature of the peer context in which development is embedded. Specifically, early-maturing girls are more likely to break norms for substance abuse when embedded in peer groups composed of girls older than themselves than in peer groups composed of girls of the same age.

The third conceptual feature of ADS places an emphasis on the centrality of context. There is a focus on the relations among all levels of organization within the ecology of human development. These levels involve biology, families, peer groups, schools, businesses, neighborhoods and communities, physical/ecological settings, and the sociocultural, political, legal/moral, and economic institutions of society. Together, bidirectional relations among these levels of the developmental system necessitate systemic approaches to research, program and policy design, and program and policy implementation.

A key example of the importance of considering the context in attempts to understand individual development comes from the work of Eccles, Wigfield, and Byrnes (2003), who point to the importance of understanding stage-environment fit when interpreting the impact of school curricula and curricula change on adolescent motivation. Similarly, Lerner (2002) reviews data indicating how fit between infant temperament or child temperament and the demands for behavior present in the home or school, respectively, provide a basis for infant and child adjustment and positive development.

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