The aims of the research program were: (a) to develop and validate new measures to assess assimilative and accommodative resources (cf. Brandtstädter & Rothermund, 2002) in young adults (Study 1), (b) to test the cross-sectional associations among assimilation and accommodation, career goal appraisals and attitudes, career goal engagement and disengagement, and life satisfaction (Study 2), and (c) to investigate the cross-lagged relationships between assimilation and accommodation, career goal attainability and optimism, and well-being over time (Study 3). The studies were informed by the dual-process framework (Brandtstädter & Rothermund, 2002) and are reported as three journal articles that have been accepted for publication in international, peer reviewed journals.
In Study 1, new scales were developed and validated to measure assimilative and accommodative resources in young adults. Existing scales demonstrated poor validity and were developed for use with middle aged to older adults. Experts reviewed the content validity of the two existing measures (Tenacious Goal Pursuit and Flexible Goal Adjustment Scales; Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990) to identify items that could be modelled for the new scales. New items were generated, then refined by an expert panel and focus groups of young adults.