Relational Competence across the Life Span

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511499852.013

13 - Relational Competence across the Life Span

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2009

Frieder R. Lang and

Eric L. Daleiden and

Frieder R. Lang: Affiliation:
Martin Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenburg, Germany
Karen L. Fingerman: Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
Robert O. Hansson: Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Tulsa, 600 South College, Lorton Hall 307, Tulsa, OK 74104
Eric L. Daleiden: Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Div., Hawaii Department of Health, 3627 Kilauea Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816
Bert Hayslip Jr.: Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 311280, Denton, TX 76203-1280

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Important personal relationships can at times become stressed, conflicted, unpredictable, and a poor fit to our needs. At such times, adaptation depends largely on one's ability to successfully access, initiate, develop, and maintain support relationships. The chapter describes the theoretical and empirical efforts that led to the formulation of a two-component model of “relational competence,” emphasizing competencies and perspectives relevant to the initiation and enhancement of relationships. We examine developmental processes characteristic of populations ranging in age from infancy to late life, with an eye to (a) the nature and development of relational competence, (b) links to early developmental phenomena such as temperament, attachment, and self-concept, and to (c) psychological processes in adulthood such as hardiness, resilience, and adaptation to dependency.

From the beginning, relationships shape and influence our lives. They provide nurturance, security, support, and companionship. They are our inspiration, our links to the broader social world, and the contexts for our emotional and cognitive development.

Yet the nature and composition of our relationships and the functions they serve tend to change across the life span. Unfortunately, personal relationships can also become problematic. At each phase of development, important peer, friendship, and support relationships can become stressed, conflicted, overwhelmed, unpredictable, and a “poor fit” to one's needs. Our personal and support relationships cannot, therefore, always be taken for granted. Such events present complex adaptive challenges for those in need of a support network, and the ability to successfully cope with these “relational challenges” varies considerably across individuals.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Growing Together
Personal Relationships Across the Life Span
, pp. 317 - 340
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511499852.013 [Opens in a new window]
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

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.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Adkins, G., Martin, P., & Poon, L. W. (1996). Personality traits and states as predictors of subjective well-being in centenarians, octogenarians, and sexagenarians. Psychology and Aging, 11, 408–416CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Antonucci, T. C. (2001). Social relations: An examination of social networks, social support, and sense of control. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 427–453). San Diego: Academic Press

Baltes, P. B. (1997). On the incomplete architecture of human ontogeny: Selection, optimization, and compensation as foundation of developmental theory. American Psychologist, 52, 366–380CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1990). Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences. New York: Cambridge University Press

Bass, S. A., & Caro, F. G. (2001). Productive aging: A conceptual framework. In N. Morrow-Howell, J. Hinterlong, & M. Sherraden (Eds.), Productive aging: Concepts and challenges (pp. 37–80). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press

Bergeman, C., & Wallace, K. (1999). Resiliency in later life. In T. L. Whitman & T. Merluzzi (Eds.), Life span perspectives on health and illness (pp. 207–225). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum

Berndt, T. J. (1996). Friendships in adolescence. In N. Vanzetti & S. Duck (Eds.), A lifetime of relationships (pp. 181–212). New York: Brooks/Cole

Birren, J. E. (2001). Psychological implications of productive aging. In H. Morrow-Howell, J. Hinterlong, & M. Sherraden (Eds.), Productive aging: Concepts and challenges (pp. 102–119). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press

Blanchard-Fields, F., & Hess, T. M. (1999). The social cognitive perspective and the study of aging. In T. M. Hess & F. Blanchard-Fields (Eds.), Social cognition and aging (pp. 2–16). San Diego: Academic PressCrossRef

Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss. Vol. 2, Separation. New York: Basic Books

Brandtstadter, J. (1999). Studies of resilience in the aging self: Toward integrating perspectives. In T. M. Hess & F. Blanchard-Fields (Eds.), Social cognition and aging (pp. 125–144). San Diego: Academic Press

Carpenter, B. N. (1987, August). Development, structure, and concurrent validity of the relational competence scale. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, New York, NY

Carpenter, B. N. (1993). Relational competence. In D. Perlman & W. H. Jones (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 4, pp. 1–28). New York: Jessica Kingsley

Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D. M., & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165–181CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Case, R., Hayward, S., Lewis, M., & Hurst, P. (1988). Toward a neo-Piagetian theory of cognitive and emotional development. Developmental Review, 8, 1–51CrossRef Google Scholar

Charles, S. T., & Carstensen, L. L. (1999). The role of time in the setting of social goals across the life span. In T. M. Hess & F. Blanchard-Fields (Eds.), Social cognition and aging (pp. 319–345). San Diego: Academic PressCrossRef

Cicchetti, D., & Cohen, D. J. (1995). Perspectives on developmental psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology (Vol. 1): Theory and methods (pp. 3–20). New York: John Wiley

Cicchetti, D., & Schneider-Rosen, K. (1986). An organizational approach to childhood depression. In M. Rutter, C. Izard, & P. Read (Eds.), Depression in young people: Developmental and clinical perspectives (pp. 71–134). New York: Guilford

Clark, L., & Hartman, M. (1996). Effects of hardiness and appraisal on the psychological distress and physical health of caregivers to elderly relatives. Research on Aging, 18, 379–401CrossRef Google Scholar

Clarke, E. J., Preston, M., Raskin, J., & Bengtson, V. L. (1999). Types of conflicts and tensions between older parents and adult children. The Gerontologist, 39, 261–270CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Cole, D. A. (1990). The relation of social and academic competence to depressive symptoms in childhood. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99, 422–429CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Cole, D. A., & Turner, J. E. (1993). Models of cognitive mediation and moderation in childhood depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 271–281CrossRef Google Scholar

Cross, S., & Markus, H. (1991). Possible selves across the life course. Human Development, 34, 230–255CrossRef Google Scholar

Currin, J., Hayslip, B., Schneider, L., & Kooken, R. (1998). Cohort differences in attitudes toward mental health services among older persons. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice and Training, 35, 506–518CrossRef Google Scholar

Daleiden, E., Vasey, M. W., & Brown, L. M. (1999). Internalizing disorders. In W. K. Silverman & T. H. Ollendick (Eds.), Developmental issues in the clinical treatment of children and adolescents (pp. 259–278). Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Damon, W. (1977). The social world of the child. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Ericsson, K. A., & Charness, N. (1994). Expert performance: Its structure and acquisition. American Psychologist, 49, 725–747CrossRef Google Scholar

Filipp, S. H. (1996). Motivation and emotion. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 218–235). San Diego: Academic Press

Friedrich, D. D. (2001). Successful aging: Integrating contemporary ideas, research findings, and intervention strategies. Springfield, IL: C. C. Thomas

Garber, J., & Strassberg, Z. (1991). Construct validity: History and application to developmental psychopathology. In W. M. Grove & D. Cicchetti (Eds.), Thinking clearly about psychology. Vol. 2, Personality and psychopathology (pp. 219–258). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press

Hansson, R. O., & Carpenter, B. N. (1994). Relationships in old age: Coping with the challenge of transition. New York: Guilford

Hansson, R. O., Jones, W. H., & Carpenter, B. N. (1984). Relational competence and social support. In P. Shaver (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology. Vol. 5, Emotions, relationships, and health (pp. 265–284). Beverly Hills: Sage

Harter, S. (1986). Cognitive-developmental processes in the integration of concepts about emotions and the self. Social Cognition, 119–151CrossRef

Hayslip, B., & Goldberg-Glen, R. (2000). Grandparents raising grandchildren: Theoretical, empirical, and clinical perspectives. New York: Springer

Hayslip, B., Shore, J., Lambert, P., & Henderson, C. (1998). Custodial grandparenting and the impact of grandchildren with problems on role satisfaction and role meaning. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 53B, S164–S174CrossRef Google Scholar

Hooker, K. (1999). Possible selves in adulthood: Incorporating telenomic relevance into studies of the self. In T. M. Hess & F. Blanchard-Fields (Eds.), Social cognition and aging (pp. 99–124). San Diego: Academic PressCrossRef

Huang, C. (1995). Hardiness and stress: A critical review. Maternal-Child Nursing Journal, 23, 82–89Google Scholar PubMed

Kagan, J. (1994). On the nature of emotion. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59 (2–3, Serial No. 240)CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Kahn, R. L., & Antonucci, T. C. (1980). Convoys over the life course: Attachments, roles, and social support. In P. B. Baltes (Ed.), Life span development (pp. 253–286). New York: Academic Press

Kobasa, S. C., Maddi, S. R., & Kahn, S. (1982). Hardiness and health: A prospective study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 168–172CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Lang, F. R., Featherman, D. L., & Nesselroade, J. R. (1997). Social self-efficacy and short-term variability in social relationships: The MacArthur successful aging studies. Psychology and Aging, 12, 657–666CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Lawton, M. P., Kleban, M. H., Rajagopal, D., & Dean, J. (1992). Dimensions of affective experience in three age groups. Psychology and Aging, 7, 1171–184CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Lawton, M. P., & Simon, B. B. (1968). The ecology of social relationships in housing for the elderly. Gerontologist, 8, 110–115CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Lazarus, R. S. (1996). The role of coping in the emotions and how coping changes over the life course. In C. Magai & S. H. McFadden (Eds.), Handbook of emotion, adult development, and aging (pp. 289–306). San Diego: Academic PressCrossRef

Magai, C., & McFadden, S. H. (Eds.) (1996). Handbook of emotion, adult development, and aging. San Diego: Academic Press

Moss, M. S., Moss, S. Z., & Hansson, R. O. (2001). Bereavement and old age. In M. S. Stroebe, R. O. Hansson, W. Stroebe, & H. Schut (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement research (pp. 241–260). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

Mutran, E. (1985). Intergenerational family support among blacks and whites: Response to culture or to socioeconomic differences?Journal of Gerontology, 40, 382–389CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Neugarten, B. L. (1977). Personality and aging. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 626–649). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold

Neyer, F.-J. (2003). Dyadic fits and transactions in personality and relationships. In F. R. Lang & K. L. Fingerman (Eds.), Growing together: Personal relationships across the life span (chap. 12). New York: Cambridge University PressCrossRef

Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S., & Seligman, M. E. P.(1992). Predictors and consequences of childhood depressive symptoms: A 5-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 405–422CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Park, D. C., & Gutchess, A. H. (2000). Cognitive aging and everyday life. In D. C. Park & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Cognitive aging: A primer (pp. 217–232). Philadelphia, PA: Taylor & Francis

Parker, J. G., Rubin, K. H., Price, J. M., & DeRosier, M. E. (1995). Peer relationships, child development, and adjustment. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology (Vol. 2): Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 96–161). New York: Wiley

Patterson, G. R., Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1992). Antisocial boys. Eugene, OR: Castalia Publishing

Roberts, B. W., & DelVecchio, W. F. (2000). The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 3–25CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Rosow, I. (1985). Status and role change through the life cycle. In R. H. Binstock & E. Shanas (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 693–701). New York: Academic Press

Rothbart, M. K., & Mauro, J. A. (1990). Questionnaire measures of infant temperament. In J. W. Fagen & J. Colombo (Eds.), Individual differences in infancy: Reliability, stability, and prediction (pp. 411–429). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum

Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1998). Successful aging. New York: Pantheon

Ruth, J., & Coleman, P. (1996). Personality and aging: Coping and management of the self in later life. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 308–322). San Diego: Academic Press

Ryff, C. D., Kwan, C. M., & Singer, B. H. (2001). Personality and aging: Flourishing agendas and future challenges. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 477–499). San Diego: Academic Press

Shapiro, T. (1995). Developmental issues in psychotherapy research. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23, 31–44CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Shore, R. J., & Hayslip, B. (1994). Custodial grandparenting: Implications for children's development. In A. S. Gottfried & A. W. Gottfried (Eds.), Redefining families: Implications for children's development (pp. 172–220). New York: John WileyCrossRef

Smith, J., & Goodnow, J.(1999). Unasked-for support and unsolicited advice: Age and the quality of social experience. Psychology and Aging, 14, 108–121CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Somary, K., & Stricker, G. (1998). Becoming a grandparent: A longitudinal study of expectations and experiences as a function of sex and lineage. The Gerontologist, 38, 53–61CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Staudinger, U. M., Smith, J., & Baltes, P. B. (1992). Wisdom related knowledge in a life review task: Age differences and the role of professional specialization. Psychology and Aging, 7, 271–281CrossRef Google Scholar

Townsend, A. L., & Franks, M. M. (1995). Closeness and conflict in adult children's caregiving relationships. Psychology and Aging, 10, 343–351CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Tsai, J. L., Levenson, R. W., & Carstensen, L. L. (2000). Autonomic, subjective, and expressive responses to emotional films in older and younger Chinese Americans and European Americans. Psychology and Aging, 15, 684–693CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Van den Boom, D. (1989). Neonatal irritability and the development of attachment. In G. Kohnstamm, J. Bates, & M. K. Rothbart (Eds.), Temperament in childhood. Chichester, UK: Wiley

Waldstein, S. R. (2000). Health effects on cognitive aging. In P. C. Stern & L. L. Carstensen (Eds.), The aging mind: Opportunities in cognitive research (pp. 189–217). Washington, DC: National Research Council

Weisz, J. R., Rudolph, K. D., Granger, D. A., & Sweeney, L. (1992). Cognition, competence, and coping in child and adolescent depression: Research findings, developmental concerns, therapeutic implications. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 627–653CrossRef Google Scholar

Williams, D. R., & Wilson, C. M. (2001). Race, ethnicity, and aging. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 160–178). San Diego: Academic Press

Williamson, G. M., Shaffer, D. R., & The Family Relationships in Late Life Project (2001). Relationship quality and potentially harmful behaviors by spousal caregivers: How we were then, how we are now. Psychology and Aging, 16, 217–226CrossRef Google Scholar

Yates, M. E., Tennstedt, S., & Chang, B. H. (1999). Contributors to and mediators of psychological well-being for informal caregivers. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 54B, P12–P22CrossRef Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.