ABSTRACT
The conceptual framework presented in this chapter builds a connection between individual development and the social context of such development. We use the metaphor of developmental tasks to describe and understand development (Baltes, Reese, & Lipsitt, 1980; Havighurst, 1973; Smitsman & van Lieshout, 1992). Individuals encounter a developmental task as a thematically coherent series of problems that must be solved in order to adequately adjust to new demands or take advantage of new opportunities. These developmental tasks are encountered in a context, and this context is, to a large degree, socially determined. Social context is defined as the constraints or opportunities elicited from others. Such opportunities and constraints occur within the interactions, relationships, and groups in which individuals participate across the life span. Three hierarchical levels are thus distinguished within the social context: interactions, relationships, and groups (Hinde, 1976, 1995; Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1997; van Lieshout, 1995; van Lieshout & van Aken, 1995).
