ABSTRACT
Researchers have begun to recognise and acknowledge the limitations of past research and it is in addressing what has been neglected or omitted in the past that new developments are likely to occur. Past research, has predominantly drawn on the quantitative research paradigm, and the advance in qualitative methods provides both a strong case and a means for redressing the balance. Arguably community and environmental psychology provide a useful model for this development. This more comprehensive analysis of context and cognitions must address the developmental nature of the stress process, which requires more longitudinal research. The discussion of constructivist perspectives is important in the context of the development of critical psychology. Smith et al. discuss a qualitative alternative to the traditional quantitative approach to psychology in terms of constructivist-grounded theory. Thus theory is developed from data grounded in personal constructions of reality or cognitive appraisals of the situation.
