Journal of Adult Development

Journal of Adult Development
Title	Journal of Adult Development
Discipline	Psychology
Abbreviation	J. Adult Dev.
Publisher	Springer Science+Business Media
Country	United States
History	1994–present
Frequency	Quarterly
Issn	1068-0667
Eissn	1573-336X

Journal of Adult Development is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on adult psychological development, life span transitions, identity formation, and psychosocial processes in adulthood. The journal publishes empirical studies, theoretical papers, methodological advances, and reviews that connect developmental trajectories to clinical practice and policy debates. It serves researchers and practitioners interested in midlife change, aging processes, vocational trajectories, and intergenerational relations.

History

The journal was established in 1994 during a period of growth in developmental science alongside journals such as Developmental Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, Journal of Gerontology, American Psychologist, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Founding editors drew on traditions from researchers linked to institutions like Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, Columbia University, and Yale University. Early volumes featured work referencing paradigms associated with scholars connected to Erik Erikson, Daniel Levinson, Paul Baltes, John Bowlby, and Carol Gilligan, and engaged debates mirrored in venues such as Society for Research in Child Development, American Psychological Association, Gerontological Society of America, International Association of Applied Psychology, and European Association of Developmental Psychology.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the journal intersected with themes prominent in conferences at American Educational Research Association, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, British Psychological Society, Society for Research on Adolescence, and workshops influenced by scholars at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, and University College London. Editorial leadership rotated among editors with affiliations to Northwestern University, Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, and University of Washington, reflecting evolving emphases on lifespan frameworks, longitudinal design, and cross-cultural comparison.

Scope and Topics

The journal's scope includes adult development across midlife and later life, integrating work on identity, cognition, emotion, personality, and social roles. Common topics link to literatures involving Erik Erikson-inspired stages, Daniel Levinson's seasons of life, Paul Baltes's selective optimization with compensation, and attachment models stemming from John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Research published often references constructs examined in Big Five personality studies associated with researchers at University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, and McGill University; it also engages applied topics intersecting with organizations such as World Health Organization, United Nations, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Substantive areas include career development linked to theories advanced by scholars at Columbia University, Cornell University, and Kellogg School of Management; marital and family studies connected to work from University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania; health psychology intersecting with research from Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic, and Cleveland Clinic; and cross-cultural comparisons drawing on fieldwork involving China National Committee for Mental Health, Indian Council of Medical Research, University of Tokyo, and University of Cape Town.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in major bibliographic services alongside titles such as PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, and PubMed Central. It appears in subject-specific indices connected to organizations like Clarivate Analytics, Elsevier, National Library of Medicine, ProQuest, and EBSCOhost. Citation tracking for articles in the journal is available through platforms used by scholars at Google Scholar, ResearchGate, ORCID, and institutional repositories at Harvard Library and Bodleian Libraries.

Editorial Board and Peer Review

The editorial board has historically comprised senior scholars from institutions such as Stanford University, Yale University, University of California, Los Angeles, King's College London, University of Toronto, Australian National University, McMaster University, Lund University, and University of Amsterdam. Associate editors and reviewers are drawn from disciplinary networks including American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, and regional societies such as European Federation of Psychologists' Associations.

The journal uses double-blind peer review practices typical of journals published by Springer Science+Business Media and adopts ethical guidelines consonant with standards promulgated by Committee on Publication Ethics and funder mandates from National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. Special issues have been guest-edited by scholars affiliated with Princeton University, University of Chicago, Indiana University Bloomington, and Duke University.

Publication Details and Access

Published quarterly by Springer Science+Business Media, the journal offers subscription access, institutional licensing through consortia such as JSTOR and Project MUSE, and hybrid open access options aligning with policies of funders like Wellcome Trust and European Research Council. Digital object identifiers (DOIs) are assigned via infrastructure maintained by CrossRef and content distribution leverages platforms used by SpringerLink and library systems at Library of Congress and National Diet Library (Japan).

Impact and Reception

The journal is cited in literatures tied to lifespan development, gerontology, clinical psychology, and social policy, and appears in citation contexts alongside journals such as Journal of Marriage and Family, Psychology and Aging, Developmental Review, Clinical Psychology Review, and Social Science & Medicine. Its influence is reflected in citations tracked by Clarivate Analytics's Journal Citation Reports and metrics used by universities including University of Oxford, Cambridge University, Imperial College London, and University of Melbourne. The journal has shaped debates informed by research programs connected to Erik Erikson, Paul Baltes, Carol Gilligan, and contemporary investigators at Columbia University, Harvard University, and Stanford University.

Category:Psychology journals