Hostname: page-component-5d84bcc8dc-59lmv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-09-06T03:08:07.393Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Resilience in developmental psychopathology: Contributions of the Project Competence Longitudinal Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2012

Ann S. Masten  and
Auke Tellegen
Ann S. Masten*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Auke Tellegen
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Ann S. Masten, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnestoa, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455; E-mail: amasten@umn.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Contributions of the Project Competence Longitudinal Study (PCLS) to resilience science and developmental psychopathology are highlighted in this article. Initiated by Norman Garmezy, the PCLS contributed models, measures, and methods, as well as working definitions of concepts like competence, developmental tasks, protective factors, and resilience. Findings from the study corroborated the feasibility of studying adaptation in a normative group of school children, identifying patterns of resilience, competence without major adversity, and maladaptive paths through life. Competence was multidimensional, showing continuity and change over time. Cascading effects across domains indicated that competence and problems spread over time. Thus, adult achievements in developmental tasks were rooted in childhood and adolescence. Young people who showed resilience had much in common with similarly successful peers who experienced less adversity over time, including high-quality relationships with parents and other adults, and good cognitive, as well as social–emotional, skills. Maladaptive youth in the study often faced high adversity with little adaptive capacity (internal or external) and tended to generate stressful experiences. Resilience often emerged in childhood and endured, but there also were late bloomers whose lives turned around in the transition to adulthood. The role of collaboration and mentorship in the PCLS is also discussed.

Information

Type
Special Section Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , May 2012 , pp. 345 - 361
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed. rev.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Anthony, E. J., & Koupernik, C. (Eds.). (1974). The child in his family: Children at psychiatric risk. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009). Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 885–908.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boelcke, K., & Masten, A. (2001). How do young adults versus developmental psychologists judge competence? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychologist Association, San Francisco, August.Google Scholar
Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (1978). Social origins of depression: A study of psychiatric disorder in women. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Burt, K. B., & Masten, A. S. (2010). Development in the transition to adulthood: Vulnerabilities and opportunities. In Grant, J. E. & Potenza, M. N. (Eds.), Young adult mental health (pp. 5–18). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Burt, K. B., Obradović, J., Long, J. D., & Masten, A. S. (2008). The interplay of social competence and psychopathology over 20 years: Testing transactional and cascade models. Child Development, 79, 359–374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D. (2006). Development and psychopathology. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 1. Theory and method (2nd ed., pp. 1–23). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Cohen, D. (Eds.). (1995). Developmental psychopathology. New York: Wiley.Google ScholarPubMed
Durbrow, E. H., Peña, L. F., Masten, A. S., Sesma, A., & Williamson, I. (2001). Mothers’ conceptions of child competence in contexts of poverty: The Philippines, St. Vincent, and the United States. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25, 438–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, B. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2011). Differential susceptibility to the environment: Toward an understanding of sensitivity to developmental experiences and context. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N. (1974). The study of competence in children at risk for severe psychopathology. In Anthony, E. J. & Koupernik, C. (Eds.), The child in his family: Vol. 3. Children at psychiatric risk (pp. 77–97). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N. (1981). Children under stress: Perspective on antecedents and correlates of vulnerability and resistance to psychopathology. In Rabin, A. I., Aronoff, J., Barclay, A. M., & Zucker, R. A. (Eds.), Further explorations in personality (pp. 196–269). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N. (1983). Stressors of childhood. In Garmezy, N. & Rutter, M. (Eds.), Stress, coping and development in children (pp. 43–84). New York: McGraw–Hill.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N. (1985a). Competence and adaptation in adult schizophrenic patients and children at risk. In Cancro, R. & Dean, S. R. (Eds.), The Stanlev R. Dean award lectures (Vol. II, pp. 69–112). New York: Spectrum Publications.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N. (1985b). Stress-resistant children: The search for protective factors. In Stevenson, J. E. (Ed.), Recent research in developmental psychopathology: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Book Supplement 4 (pp. 213–233). Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N., & Crose, J. (1948). A comparison of the academic achievement of matched groups of veteran and non-veteran freshman at the University of Iowa. Journal of Educational Research, 41, 547–550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garmezy, N., & Devine, V. T. (1984). Project Competence: The Minnesota studies of children vulnerable to psychopathology. In Watt, N., Rolf, J., & Anthony, E. J. (Eds.), Children at risk for schizophrenia (pp. 287–303). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (1984). The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 97–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garmezy, N., & Rodnick, E. H. (1959). Premorbid adjustment and performance in schizophrenia: Implications of interpreting heterogeneity in schizophrenia. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 129, 450–466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garmezy, N., & Rutter, M. (1983). Stress, coping and development in children. New York: McGraw–Hill.Google Scholar
Garmezy, N., & Tellegen, A. (1984). Studies of stress-resistant children: Methods, variables, and preliminary findings. In Morrison, F., Lord, C., & Keating, D. (Eds.), Advances in applied developmental psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 231–287). New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gest, S. D. (1997). Behavioral inhibition: Stability and associations with adaptation from childhood to early adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 467–475.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gest, S. D., Reed, M., & Masten, A. S. (1999). Measuring developmental changes in exposure to adversity: A life chart and rating scale approach. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 171–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gest, S. D., Sesma, A., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (2006). Childhood peer reputation as a predictor of competence and symptoms 10 years later. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 509–526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gottesman, I. I. (1974). Developmental genetics and ontogenetic psychology: Overdue détente and propositions from a matchmaker. In Pick, A. D. (Ed.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 8, pp. 55–80). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Gottesman, I. I., & Shields, J. (1972). Schizophrenia and genetics: A twin study vantage point. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Harter, S. (1986). Manual: Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. Unpublished manuscript, University of Denver.Google Scholar
Havighurst, R. J. (1972). Developmental tasks and education (3rd ed.). New York: David McKay.Google Scholar
Herzog, J. G. (1984). Life events as indices of family stress: Relationships with children's current levels of competence. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Hillman, N. (1987). Mothers’ competence: Correlates and continuity under stress. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Linder, H. D. (1985). A contextual life events interview as a measure of stress: A comparison of questionnaire-based versus interview-based stress indices. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. (1986). Humor and competence in school-aged children. Child Development, 57, 461–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (1989). Resilience in development: Implications of the study of successful adaptation for developmental psychopathology. In Cicchetti, D. (Ed.), The emergence of a discipline: Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology (Vol. 1, pp. 261–294). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56, 227–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (2004). Regulatory processes, risk and resilience in adolescent development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 310–319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (2006). Developmental psychopathology: Pathways to the future. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31, 47–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S. (2007). Resilience in developing systems: Progress and promise as the fourth wave rises. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 921–930.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (2011). Resilience in children threatened by extreme adversity: Frameworks for research, practice, and translational synergy. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 141–154.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S. (in press-a). Resilience in children: Vintage Rutter and beyond. In Slater, A. & Quinn, P. (Eds.), Refreshing developmental psychology: Beyond the classic studies. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. (in press-b). Risk and resilience in development. In Zelazo, P. D. (Ed.), Oxford handbook of developmental psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Best, K. M., & Garmezy, N. (1990). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 2, 425–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Braswell, L. (1991). Developmental psychopathology: An integrative framework. In Martin, P. R. (Ed.), Handbook of behavior therapy and psychological science: An integrative approach (pp. 35–56). New York: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Burt, K. B., & Coatsworth, J. D. (2006). Competence and psychopathology in development. In Ciccheti, D. & Cohen, D. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3. Risk, disorder and psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 696–738). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Burt, K., Roisman, G. I., Obradović, J., Long, J. D., & Tellegen, A. (2004). Resources and resilience in the transition to adulthood: Continuity and change. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 1071–1094.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.). (2010a). Developmental cascades [Special Issue]. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 491–715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (Eds.). (2010b). Developmental cascades [Special Issue]. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 717–983.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010c). Editorial: Developmental cascades. Developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 491–495.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1995). Competence, resilience, and psychopathology. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 2. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 715–752). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1998). The development of competence in favorable and unfavorable environments: Lessons from successful children. American Psychologist, 53, 205–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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, 1635–1659.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Desjardins, C. D., McCormick, C. M., Kuo, S. I.-C., & Long, J. D. (2010). The significance of childhood competence for adult success in work: A developmental cascade analysis. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 681–696.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., Garmezy, N., Tellegen, A., Pellegrini, D. S., Larkin, K., & Larsen, A. (1988). Competence and stress in school children: The moderating effects of individual and family qualities. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 745–764.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Hubbard, J. J., Gest, S. D., Tellegen, A., Garmezy, N., & Ramirez, M. (1999). Competence in the context of adversity: Pathways to resilience and maladaptation from childhood to late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 143–169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Morison, P., & Pellegrini, D. S. (1985). A revised class play method of peer assessment. Developmental Psychology, 21, 523–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Narayan, A. J. (2012). Child development in the context of disaster, war and terrorism: Pathways of risk and resilience. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 227–257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Neemann, J., & Andenas, S. (1994). Life events and adjustment in adolescents: The significance of event independence, desirability, and chronicity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 4, 71–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Obradović, J. (2008). Disaster preparation and recovery: Lessons from research on resilience in human development. Ecology and Society, 13, Article 9. Retrieved from http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss1/art9/CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., Obradović, J., & Burt, K. (2006). Resilience in emerging adulthood: Developmental perspectives on continuity and transformation. In Arnett, J. J. & Tanner, J. L. (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century (pp. 173–190). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Powell, J. L. (2003). A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice. In Luthar, S. S. (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerabilities: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 1–25). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., & Reed, M.-G. (2002). Resilience in development. In Snyder, C. R. & Lopez, S. J. (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 74–88). London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Roisman, G. I., Long, J. D., Burt, K. B., Obradović, J., Riley, J. R., et al. (2005). Developmental cascades: Linking academic achievement, externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years. Developmental Psychology, 41, 733–746.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCormick, C. M., Desjardins, C. D., Kuo, S. I.-C., Long, J. D., & Masten, A. S. (2010). Competence in romantic relationships: A developmental cascades analysis spanning 20 years. Poster presented at the 2010 meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, Lusaka, Zambia, July.Google Scholar
McCormick, C. M., Kuo, S. I.-C., & Masten, A. S. (2011). Developmental tasks across the lifespan. In Fingerman, K. L., Berg, C. A., Smith, J., & Antonucci, T. C. (Eds.), Handbook of lifespan development (pp. 117–140). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Morison, P., & Masten, A. (1991). Peer reputation in middle childhood as a predictor of adaptation in adolescence: A 7-year follow-up. Child Development, 62, 991–1007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neemann, J., & Harter, S. (1986). Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for College Students. Unpublished manuscript, University of Denver.Google Scholar
Neemann, J., Hubbard, J., & Masten, A. S. (1995). The changing importance of romantic relationship involvement to competence from late childhood to late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 727–750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Obradović, J., Burt, K. B., & Masten, A. S. (2006). Pathways of adaptation from adolescence to young adulthood: Antecedents and correlates. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094, 340–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obradović, J., Burt, K. B., & Masten, A. S. (2010). Testing a dual cascade model linking competence and symptoms over 20 years from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 90–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Obradović, J., & Masten, A. S. (2007). Developmental antecedents of young adult civic engagement. Applied Developmental Science, 11, 2–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Obradović, J., Shaffer, A., & Masten, A. S. (in press). Risk in developmental psychopathology: Progress and future directions. In Mayes, L. C. & Lewis, M. (Eds.), The environment of human development: A handbook of theory and measurement. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R., Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1992). A social interactional approach: Vol. 4. Antisocial boys. Eugene, OR: Castalia.Google Scholar
Pellegrini, D. S. (1985). Social cognition and competence in middle childhood. Child Development, 56, 253–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pellegrini, D. S., Masten, A. S., Garmezy, N., & Ferrarese, M. J. (1987). Correlates of social and academic competence in middle childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 699–714.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roisman, G. I., Masten, A. S., Coatsworth, J. D., & Tellegen, A. (2004). Salient and emerging developmental tasks in the transition to adulthood. Child Development, 75, 123–133.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M. (1987). Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 316–331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sameroff, A. J. (2000). Developmental systems and psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 297–312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shaffer, A., Burt, K. B., Obradovic, J., Herbers, J. E., & Masten, A. S. (2009). Intergenerational continuity in parenting quality: The mediating role of social competence. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1227–1240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L. (1998). How shall we speak of children's personalities in middle childhood?: A preliminary taxonomy. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 308–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L. (2000). Linking childhood personality with adaptation: Evidence for continuity and change across time into late adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 310–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L., & DeYoung, C. G. (in press). The structure of temperament and personality traits: A developmental perspective. In Zelazo, P. (Ed.), Oxford handbook of developmental psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shiner, R. L., & Masten, A. S. (2002). Personality and success in the developmental tasks of early adulthood: What is the direction of influence? Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Ottawa, August.Google Scholar
Shiner, R. L., & Masten, A. S. (2008). Personality in childhood: A bridge from early temperament to adult outcomes. European Journal for Developmental Science, 2, 158–175.Google Scholar
Shiner, R. L., & Masten, A. S. (2012). Childhood personality traits as a harbinger of competence and resilience in adulthood. Development and Psychopathology, 24, 507–528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L., Masten, A. S., & Roberts, J. M. (2003). Childhood personality foreshadows adult personality and life outcomes two decades later. Journal of Personality, 71, 1145–1170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiner, R. L., Masten, A. S., & Tellegen, A. (2002). A developmental perspective on personality in emerging adulthood: Childhood antecedents and concurrent adaptation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1165–1177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sroufe, L. A. (1979). The coherence of individual development: Early care, attachment and subsequent development issues. American Psychologist, 34, 834–841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sroufe, L. A. (1990). Considering normal and abnormal together: The essence of developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 2, 335–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E. A., & Collins, B. E. (2005). The development of the person: The Minnesota study of risk and adaptation from birth to adulthood. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Waters, E., & Sroufe, L. A. (1983). Social competence as a developmental construct. Developmental Review, 3, 79–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watt, N. F., Anthony, E. J., Wynne, L. C., & Rolf, J. E. (Eds.). (1984). Children at risk for schizophrenia: A longitudinal perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A study of resilient children. New York: McGraw–Hill.Google Scholar
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, M. O'D., & Wright, F. S. (1990). Children born at medical risk: Factors affecting vulnerability and resilience. In Rolf, J., Masten, A. S., Cicchetti, D., Nuechterlein, K., & Weintraub, S. (Eds.), Risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology (pp. 120–140). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar