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This paper extends theory and research concerning cultural models of development beyond family and demographic matters to a broad range of additional factors, including government, education, human rights, daily social conventions, and religion. Developmental idealism is a cultural model—a set of beliefs and values—that identifies the appropriate goals of development and the ends for achieving these goals. It includes beliefs about positive cause-and-effect relationships among such factors as economic growth, educational achievement, health, and political governance, as well as strong values regarding many attributes, including economic growth, education, small families, gender equality, and democratic governance. This cultural model has spread from its origins among the elites of northwest Europe to elites and ordinary people throughout the world. Developmental idealism has become so entrenched in local, national, and global social institutions that it has now achieved a taken-for-granted status among many national elites, academics, development practitioners, and ordinary people around the world. We argue that developmental idealism culture has been a fundamental force behind many cultural clashes within and between societies and continues to be an important cause of much global social change. We suggest that developmental idealism should be included as a causal factor in theories of human behavior and social change.

Since its introduction just over a decade ago, developmental trajectory modeling has had a major impact in studies of childhood behavior problems as well as in studies of crime. This article explores some of the issues it raises from the perspective of developmental psychopathology. First, it notes debates over categorical versus dimensional approaches to the conceptualization and analysis of behavior and argues that in the current state of knowledge, much can be gained from exploring each. Second, it highlights heterogeneity in the behavioral manifestations of antisocial traits in childhood and suggests that trajectory modeling could productively be used to track trajectories in these differing aspects of child behavior problems. Third, it argues that though trajectories are typically analyzed in relation to age, a developmental approach requires that researchers "unpack" these associations to uncover the other aspects of development—biological, psychological, or social— that underlie the age trends they observe.

Since its introduction just over a decade ago, developmental trajectory modeling has had a major impact in studies of childhood behavior problems as well as in studies of crime. This article explores some of the issues it raises from the perspective of developmental psychopathology. First, it notes debates over categorical versus dimensional approaches to the conceptualization and analysis of behavior and argues that in the current state of knowledge, much can be gained from exploring each. Second, it highlights heterogeneity in the behavioral manifestations of antisocial traits in childhood and suggests that trajectory modeling could productively be used to track trajectories in these differing aspects of child behavior problems. Third, it argues that though trajectories are typically analyzed in relation to age, a developmental approach requires that researchers "unpack" these associations to uncover the other aspects of development -- biological, psychological, or social -- that underlie the age trends they observe. Figures, References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2005 The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]

Adolescence as a life stage -- Personality development in adolescence -- Adolescents as productive processors of reality -- The developmental task qualifying -- The developmental task bonding -- The developmental task consumption -- The developmental task participation -- Problems in coping with developmental tasks -- Bibliography.