Self-Regulation Across Some Life Transitions

Abstract

(from the chapter) Many theorists and researchers have identified the importance of "self-regulation" as an important factor across the life span and significantly important for several life transitions. In this chapter, the authors define through their clinical research the essential contributions of "self-regulation" in coping with and adjusting to stressful life transitions from a cultural perspective. Theories that have emerged from multiple cultures are reviewed as is research associated with cultural implications of stressful life transitions. Developmental regulation involves efforts by the individual to influence the actual development, adapting oneself psychologically to the demands of the context in which one lives. These efforts are sometimes called volition and according to the volition theory, volition is expressed in two ways. The first kind of volition supporting the maintenance of an active goal is called self-control or action control, and the second kind, supporting the maintenance of one's actions in line with one's integrated self, is called self-regulation. The concept that these kinds of adaptive processes in adolescence and adulthood consist of emergence, establishment, and sustaining of the equilibrium between one's intentions, goals, behavior patterns, and self, will be the analytical framework for the theoretical and empirical studies that will be employed in writing this chapter. It describes the motivational bases or the regulation of one's own development, constraints on developmental self-regulation across some life-transitions, the organizers of self-regulation, as well as the mechanisms and strategies of self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)