Prevention of Maladjustment to Life Course Transitions

Description

This book provides a comprehensive and updated review of the concepts, models, and interventions related to the process of adjustment to life course transitions. In times of transition, an individual is exposed to experiences that require them to assume new roles and exhibit updated behaviors. Regardless of the characteristics of these transitions, exposure to normative trajectories imposes on the person an intensive engagement in a process of (re-)adjustment. Sometimes this demand is beyond the scope of one's ability, motivation, or comprehension. Hence, some people might ineffectively perceive and/or react to the change and end up feeling unable to handle the change and inclined to escape the situation. A preventive intervention that either reduces the impact of possible risk factors or fosters possible protective factors would support the people in managing the transition. While the importance of prevention of maladjustment is repeatedly mentioned in the literature, this is the first-known book on how to prevent maladjustment. It examines how the sense of transition emerges, what adjustment means, the models that elaborate on how people manage in times of transition, what the antecedents of maladjustment are, and especially how maladjustment could be prevented. Out of these discussions, a new model, The Transitional Stress and Adjustment (TSA) Model, is suggested as a grand framework for paving a way forward to better prevent people's maladjustment to life course transitions. Prevention of Maladjustment to Life Course Transitions is a much-needed cornerstone in the future development within the prevention science framework. This book has interdisciplinary appeal for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in psychology, sociology, public health, social work, criminology, medicine, health sciences, public policy, economics, and education who consider prevention an important vehicle of intervention to promote health and wellbeing. Its focus on the topic of adjustment also would be of special interest to those who explore child and youth development. Preface References Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures List of Tables Contributors About the Editor Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: The Need to Prevent Maladjustment to Life Course Transitions A Historical Perspective on Adjustment to Transitions Prevention Approaches to Maladjustment Biologic Approaches Psychosocial Factors Postulates Regarding the Prevention of Maladjustment Structure of the Book References Chapter 2: Adjustment to Transitions: Definitions of Terms A Lack of Clear Definition Transition Ways of Managing Transitional Episodes Adaptation vs. Adjustment Socialization Coping A Closing Comment References Part II: Adjustment to Transitions Chapter 3: Theories of Adjustment to Transitions Personality Theories Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory Rogers’s Client-Centered Therapy Personality Trait Theories Stress Theories Selye’s (1975) Homeostasis Model Lazarus’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping Hobfoll’s COR Model Holmes and Rahe’s Stressful Life Events Approach Typological Theories Schlossberg: Human Adaptation to Transitions Berry’s Acculturation Model Bridges’s Model on Managing Transitions Process Theories Brammer: Coping with Life Transitions Chaos Theories Interactive Theories Dawis and Lofquist’s Person-Environment Fit Louis’s Surprise and Sense-Making Model Bonnano’s Resilience Model Stage Theories A Word of Apology References Chapter 4: Reconsidering Stage Theories of Adjustment Why Refraining From Stage Theories of Adjustment Inside Stage Theories: A Search for Commonality A Schematic Summary of Stage Theories References Chapter 5: Adjustment to Transitions: Common Components Awareness of the Transition The Appearance of Awareness Lack of Awareness Fear of Departing from the Previous Situation Fear of the New Circumstances Beliefs That People Have About the World and Themselves A Note on the Honeymoon Period Shock and Confusion Exploration of the Situation’s Lawfulness (and Sense-Making) Reassessment of Personal Rewards Role Clarification and P-E Fit Emergence of Personal Commitment To Conclude References Chapter 6: The Transitional Stress and Adjustment (TSA) Model The Premises of the Transitional Stress and Adjustment (TSA) Model The Nature of Maladjustment From Conceptualization to Empirical Tests References Chapter 7: Preliminary Explorations of the TSA Model’s Validity Preliminary Empirical Explorations Perceptions of Chaos Perceptions of Lawfulness Perceptions of Situational Rewards An Evaluation of the TSA Model’s Structure Study Hypotheses Methods Participants Measures Procedure Statistical Analysis Results Intervention Studies A TSA-Based Intervention to Prevent Work Maladjustment Among Waiters Method Participants Measures Procedure and Intervention Results A TSA-Based Intervention to Promote Immigrants’ School Adjustment Participants and Procedure Measures Independent Variables Results Concluding Comment References Part III: Prevention of Maladjustment: Family Context Chapter 8: The Transition to Parenthood: From Adjustment to Personal Growth A Brief Description of Parents’ Characteristics in the Present Day The Transition to Parenthood Prevention of Maladjustment to Parenthood Flourishing Due to Parenthood The Transition to Parenthood: A Pathway to Personal Growth Personal Growth in Early Parenthood The Association Between Perceived Stress and Personal Growth The Association Between Childbirth Characteristics and Personal Growth Following the Transition to Parenthood The Contribution of Personal Resources and Context to Personal Growth Personal Growth vs. Personal Adjustment References Chapter 9: Adjustment to Divorce The Prevalence of Divorce Problem Models Prevention Summary and Future Directions Further Comments on Programs to Prevent Maladjustment to Parental Divorce References Part IV: Prevention of Maladjustment: Educational Context Chapter 10: The Transition to Secondary School: A Definition and Conceptualization of Adjustment During Adolescence The Transition to Secondary School The “P” in the Secondary School Transition Is an Adolescent Secondary School Students’ Social Adjustment Prevention of Secondary School Maladjustment School Transitional Environment Project (STEP) The Psychosocial Adjustment of Adolescents in Hong Kong Adjustment to the Physiological Transition Adjustment to the Psychological Transition Adjustment to the Transition in the Family System Adjustment to the Transition in the School System Adjustment to the Community System Positive Youth Development Approach Positive Youth Development Programs in Different Chinese Contexts The P.A.T.H.S. Project in Hong Kong The Impact of the P.A.T.H.S. Project in Hong Kong The Impact of the Project P.A.T.H.S. Outside of Hong Kong P.A.T.H.S. as an Intervention to Promote Adolescent Development A Final Comment on Adolescents’ Self-Esteem References Chapter 11: College Adjustment and Maladjustment College Adjustment and Maladjustment The Transition to College The Current State of College Student Mental Health Concerns Challenges for College Students Adjusting to College Challenges with Helping Students A Community of Support Models of Positive Adjustment The Stress-Diathesis Model Facilitating Social Connection Summer Programs and Transitioning to College Shifting to a Population-Focused Paradigm Prevention Interventions for College Campuses Peer to Peer Interventions Population-Focused Interventions Resilience Building Concluding Comments References Part V: Prevention of Maladjustment: Army Context Chapter 12: Adjustment Following Separation: Prevention of Child Maladjustment Following Parental Deployment to War Prolonged Parental Separation Military Family Life The Impact of Deployment Separation on Children, Parents, and Parenting The Impact of Family Stress on Children Is Mediated Through Parenting Prevention of Internalizing and Externalizing Problems by Strengthening Parenting in Military Families: Results from a Program of Research Development and Testing of the ADAPT Prevention Program Moving Onward: Lessons Learned and Scaling Up Final Note on ADAPT and Other Life Course Transitions References Chapter 13: Veteran Transition to Civilian Life: Leveraging the Strengths of Military Culture The Veteran Experience Understanding Military Culture Informs Practice Military Culture Shaping and Implications for Help-Seeking Impact of War-Related Trauma Injuries Combined with Transition Reentry Shock An Alternate Model for How Clinicians Can Better Serve Returning Veterans Seeking Solutions: Group-Based Programs Reframing the Therapeutic Process Recruitment The Veterans Transition Program: A General Overview Therapeutic Enactment Therapeutic Enactment Phases Empirical Evidence Implications for Professional Practice Summary A Final Note References Part VI: Prevention of Maladjustment: Civilian Context Chapter 14: Adjustment to Immigration The Immigration Experience Adjustment to Immigration Comments on the Acculturation Process Additional Factors Associated with Adjustment Among Immigrants The Case for Supporting Immigrant Students’ School Maladjustment A TSA-Based Intervention to Promote Immigrants’ School Adjustment References Chapter 15: Inclusion: Environmental Efforts to Prevent Maladjustment in the Service of Human Growth Threats to Be Faced: Inequalities and Social and Environmental Injustices Inclusion Building Inclusive Contexts An Example: The Promotion of Inclusive Teaching Skills Among University Professors Preparation of the “Inclusive Teaching” Project Establishing a Work Group Preparation of the Intervention Materials Implementation Inclusion from the TSA Perspective An Example: Community Inclusion of Mental Health Outpatients Final Comments References Part VII: Prospective Challenges Chapter 16: Prevention of Maladjustment: Paving the Way Forward Emerging Commonalities Across Life Course Transitions Much Attention Is Given to Transitional Periods Life Course Transitions Are Not an Individual Matter Transitions Are Risky Periods Interventions to Prevent Maladjustment Work The Emergence of a Generic Theory of Adjustment to Transitions Prevention of Maladjustment to Life Course Transitions: Possible Implications Prevention of Maladjustment: The Challenges Ahead Possible Clusters of Transitional Events Possible Ethnic and Cultural Differences Advanced Explorations of the Parental Role in Shaping Adjustability The Impact of Repeated Exposure to Life Course Transitions Can Knowledge on Resilience and Adjustment to Life Course Transitions Be Integrated? References Index