Building Consensus on the Characteristics of Developmental Maturity: A Cross-Disciplinary Survey of Psychologists

Abstract

A critical step toward ensuring a consistent approach to and communication about the construct of developmental maturity is refinement of a general, unified representation of this construct across psychological subspecialties. The current study evaluated the core characteristics of developmental maturity by examining the factor structure of this broad concept. Results of an exploratory factor analysis supported a four-factor solution of developmental maturity: independent functioning, decision making, emotion regulation, and general cognitive processing. Overall, psychologists across subspecialties did not differ significantly in their ratings of items across the four factors. Findings contribute to a cross-disciplinary, comprehensive, and operational definition of developmental maturity.