This paper employs the concept of individual psychosocial competence to provide an organising framework for understanding the multiple ways in which people exercise choice and autonomy in conducting their lives. The components of psychosocial com petence are discussed with a focus on the nesting contexts of overall life milieus which define ethnic validity imbeddedness and the parameters of an individual's life. Illus trative research reflecting different points in the human life span are presented. Evidence is found for consistency in the patterns of competence in the different cultural, racial, religious and age groups investigated. The studies demonstrate the role of ecological and life stage variables in psychosocial functioning and the usefulness of the ethnic validity based psychosocial competence framework for understanding mastery and well-being in different societies and cultures.
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