A Role-Based Approach to Adult Development: The Triple-Helix Model

Abstract

The triple-helix role model presented in this article offers a synthesized developmental approach to the understanding and study of adulthood. It incorporates three major roles: family, work, and self, each powered by the drive for self-esteem. This conceptualization of adult development processes accommodates a wide range of possible patterns and varied timing of life events relative to career options, family and relationship choices, and emphasis on self-development. Because it is becoming increasingly difficult to designate with certainty age-stage periods, the triple-helix role model is proposed as a different frame of reference for the perception of acceptable developmental progress. It could offer insight into the complexities of adults' lives and free us from the restriction of viewing the life journey as “on or off time,” “in or out of harmony,” “normal or abnormal.”

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