Developmental Transitions Exploring stability and change through the lifespan International Texts in Developmental Psychology Series

How can we make sense of change and stability through the lifespan of human development? What role does personal experience, our relationships with others, and historical and sociocultural contexts play in shaping these changes? This is the first book to offer an integrative overview of the range of developmental transitions which occur through the lifespan. Bringing together different theoretical and conceptual perspectives and a broad range of empirical research including quantitative and qualitative approaches, this book encompasses a range of complex transitional forms. Covering topics such as health transitions, transitions in friendships and romantic relationships, career transitions, and societal transitions, this book takes the reader beyond a focus on childhood and adolescence, to look at the whole lifespan. Reflecting a perspective that takes into account a sociocultural past and present, this book seeks to show how transitions can be viewed as both an experience of uncertainty and possibility. Transitions perform important functions and present psychosocial opportunities. Developmental Transitions is essential reading for all undergraduate and graduate students of developmental and cultural psychology and is also a valuable resource for academics and practitioner audiences interested in stability and change as people age.

Chapter 1 An introduction to developmental transitions

Chapter 2 Bodily Transitions

Chapter 3 Health transitions

Chapter 4 Transitions in friendships and romantic relationships

Chapter 5 Parenthood and other family transitions

Chapter 6 Educational transitions

Chapter 7 Career transitions and employment

Chapter 8 Transitions across contexts

Chapter 9 Society and transitions

Chapter 10 A concluding note

Sarah Crafter is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University, UK.

Rachel Maunder is Associate Professor in Psychology at The University of Northampton, UK.

Laura Soulsby is a Lecturer in Psychology at The University of Liverpool, UK.