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36 BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL UNIVERSALSThose systems could be located within the organism (e.g., dysfunctions of attentionin the central nervous system), in relationships (e.g., disturbed attachmentrelationships or poor parenting in the family system), or in community/society (e.g., poor education or health-care system). It is also possible for extremelyadverse environments or major disasters to radically alter available resources,affecting many systems at many levels. Competence in multipledomains, and the quality of functioning along symptom dimensions (e.g., internalizingor externalizing symptoms), may co-occur in people because of commonunderlying risks and assets, vulnerabilities and protective factors, or thepowerful and broad mediating impact of key relationships, as found in the roleof parenting or romantic partners. (The topic of adversity and competence isdiscussed further in the later section on resilience.)Symptoms of Mental Disorders Undermine CompetenceIt is also possible that the symptoms of a disorder, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia,or autism, are so impairing that they undermine effective behavior inmultiple competence domains. Developmental tasks, by definition, require coordinateduse of multiple capabilities to direct behavior in context over time (Mastenet al., 2006). Adolescents who are too distracted, confused, or anxious to socializewith peers, go to school, or participate in activities due to a mental illness arelikely to have problems making friends, achieving at school, and succeeding onthe baseball team, and may miss out on many opportunities for normal socializationof competence as a result. Adolescents with significant issues of impulsecontrol or aggression may alienate mainstream peers or get themselves moved intospecial education classrooms that are not conducive to optimal academic progress.Competence Failures Contributeto Symptoms and DisordersSome models also propose that failure in age-salient developmental tasks, whichare highly valued by parents, self, and society, can undermine well-being or exacerbatesymptoms (Chen, Li, Li, Li, & Liu, 2000; Cole, Martin, Powers, & Truglio,1996; Kiesner, 2002; Nangle, Erdley, Newman, Mason, & Carpenter, 2003). Perceivedfailure could lead to feelings of distress or sadness. Cole and colleagues(Cole, Martin, & Powers, 1997; Jacquez, Cole, & Searle, 2004) have proposedsuch a failure model for depression, and have demonstrated that social competencepredicted changes in depressed affect over time, whereas the reverse wasnot found. Cole et al. (1997) suggest that this effect is mediated by perceivedcompetence. There is also evidence that academic failure (often leading to schooldropout) contributes to externalizing symptoms, possibly by increasing affiliationwith deviant peers or increasing exposure to violence (Deater-Deckard, 2001;Dishion, Patterson, Stoolmiller, & Skinner, 1991; Masten, Roisman, et al., 2005;Patterson, Forgatch, Yoerger, & Stoolmiller, 1998). Congruent findings also in-