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ABSTRACTMany global settings lack indigenous measures of child development, making the adaptation of available instruments necessary. The aim of this study was to reliably adapt the core subtests of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III (WPPSI-III) to assess cognitive abilities in young children in rural Pakistan. A systematic adaptation protocol was followed and psychometric properties were tested after completing data collection on a cohort of 1,273 children at 4 years of age. The results indicated a one-factor structure, and acceptable reliability of the full-scale score implying only this score should be used for any interpretation of results. Lessons learned for adaptation and evaluation in highly disadvantaged contexts are shared.

The current study employed latent difference score modeling to test whether acculturation processes at the level of the individual (i.e., self-construal) and family (i.e., family cultural conflict and family cohesion) explain variability of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in 181 (58% female) first-generation (1G) and 135 (59.3% female) second-generation (2G) Asian American emerging adult college students (ages 18–23). Acculturation processes across individual and family levels related meaningfully to individual differences in stress physiology. For 1G participants, attenuated CAR was associated with higher individualistic self-construal, family cultural conflict, and family cohesion, which may indicate desensitization of the stress response system due to the chronic burden of acculturation pressures. These processes may differ by generational status, as heightened CAR was associated with higher collectivistic self-construal in 1G students, but higher individualistic self-construal in both 2G males and a comparison sample of European American males.

Patterns of continuity and change in competence and resilience over the transition to adulthood were examined in relation to adversity and psychosocial resources, with a focus on adaptive resources that may be particularly important for this transition. Variable-focused and person-focused analyses drew on data from the Project Competence longitudinal study of a school cohort followed over 20 years from childhood through emerging adulthood (EA) into the young adulthood (YA) years with excellent retention (90%). Success in age-salient and emerging developmental tasks from EA to YA was examined in a sample of 173 of the original participants with complete data on adversity, competence, and key resources. Regressions and extreme-group analyses indicated striking continuity in competence and resilience, yet also predictable change. Success in developmental tasks in EA and YA was related to core resources originating in childhood (IQ, parenting quality, socioeconomic status) and also to a set of EA adaptive resources that included planfulness/future motivation, autonomy, adult support, and coping skills. EA adaptive resources had unique predictive significance for successful transitions to adulthood, both overall and for the small group of individuals whose pattern of adaptation changed dramatically from maladaptive to resilient over the transition. Results are discussed in relation to the possibility that the transition to adulthood is a window of opportunity for changing the life course.