[1] Commons also further divided the concept of positive adult development into six distinct areas of study: hierarchical complexity (i.e., orders or stages), knowledge, experience, expertise, wisdom, and spirituality.
[3] Recent studies indicate that such development is useful in predicting things such as an individual's health, life satisfaction, and degree of contribution to society.
[6] In these studies, adults that were older rated higher than these categories then those that were younger, thus supporting that there is indeed a positive development that occurs in adulthood.
Likewise, Cheryl Armon[13] found that by middle adulthood, some people could reason about interpersonal relationships at an order of complexity similar to that described by Lawrence Kohlberg.
Summaries of some of the initial positive adult development research can be found in the works of Commons, Richards, and Armon,[14] as well as in Alexander and Langer.
[note 3] In the past decade, researchers have turned to investigating methods to foster positive development in educational as well as organizational settings, rather than by just describing it and/or measuring it.
Methods used to foster positive adult development should focus on letting individuals reach milestones in supportive environments.
There are several competing standards for what constitutes positive development in adulthood, which can be broadly grouped into five directions;[19] orthogenetic[20](becoming more hierarchically complex), selective/adaptive (becoming more likely to pass on your genes and for offspring to survive and thrive in an environment that is not ideal),[21] veridical (becoming less biased in your view of the world), eudemonic (becoming happier and healthier),[22] and virtuous (becoming a better person from a particular moral or ethical standpoint).
The three paths, identified as "Achievers", "Conservers", and "Seekers", were formulated from the patterns that resulted when Ryff's EM and PG tests were administered in the study.
The attributes of emotionality (both positive and negative), processes of identity, and the alterations in self-control across the adulthood years predicted the path classifications.
Additionally, each path consisted of a strength profile on the "four criteria of maturity",[26] being competence, generativity, ego development, and wisdom.
Positive adult development can be measured in multiple domains, including physical health through diet reports, BMI, exercise logs, noticeable and avoidance of risk-taking behaviors.
Other areas of measurement include: ethical behavior- matters such as personal morals, behavioral checklists, and ethical reasoning; healthy relationships- aspects like relationship quality, satisfaction analyses, supportive interactions, and conflict resolution skills; educational attainment- details such as academic records, graduation rates, and levels of certification; occupational engagement-segments regarding career advancement and tracking, employment history, and skill-building; and lastly, civic engagement-channels of volunteering, civic behavior rankings, and community involvement.These can be measured by behavioral observations, developmental milestones, and self-reporting.