DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

In sum, the current study provides support for developmental, social and
socio-cultural components in therapeutic counselling. Emotional suffering may be
part of a socio-developmental crisis transition that must be confronted and crossed if
adult development is to progress in a healthy and positive manner. The crisis will
only be resolved by making changes to the self and the life structure that permit that
onward step to be made. The Chapter 9 model, with further research and
development, could help therapists and those going through crisis navigate this
complex and formative process.
10.11 Possible Directions for Future Research
The clearest need for further research is in continuing to use the same
method and age group, but on new sample groups and sample demographics.
This will help to establish generalisability and further develop the model. I
intend to carry out this research myself over the next few years. Beyond this,
there are a number of possible directions that would entail an abridged
methodology. As described earlier in this chapter, retrospective interviewing
leaves room for doubt over the accuracy of memory and interpretations of the
event in question. Future developments in research design could address the
question of the veracity of narrative accounts of crisis, by triangulating data with
reports from significant others who were also involved or implicated in a crisis,
such as a spouse or work colleague. This would give multiple perspectives on the
same episode and could illuminate consistency or disparity in each narrative.
This is logistically complicated, but it would certainly help in establishing the
clarity and accuracy of the memories, particularly chronology, external events,
behavioural reactions and changes in the life structure. This would not help in
validating the more interpretative aspects of crisis, such as the experience of
constriction or transformation in the self, which in its very nature is subjective
and interpretive, so would not be illuminated by the reports of others.
Longitudinal studies of crisis would be beneficial to assess how
retrospection and memory change the reports of crisis. Smith’s study of
pregnancy and becoming a mother (Smith, 1994) used multiple interviews at
specific times during pregnancy and after birth to compare and contrast
descriptions of the process. Such a procedure is difficult with the subject of
crisis, as the markers of onset are not as clear as with pregnancy, and thus finding
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