This volume is an outgrowth ofcontemporary research on development over
the adult lifespan, which by now has burgeoned and developed both
nationally and internationally. However, for us, the impetus to be
involved in this area was spawned and nurtured by our initial
association with the Society for Research in Adult Development (SRAD)
with its origins some 15 years ago by Michael Commonsand his associates
inCambridge, Massachusetts. Throughthegood will and support of this
society, we also became, and are still, heavily involved with the
Journal of Adult Development and the Kluwer-Plenum Monograph Series on
Adult Development and Aging, ofwhich this volume is a companion. Many
ofthe contributions in the volume are from SRAD members, who con-
sistently adhere to a focus on positive adult development. Their
chapters have been complemented by pieces from other researchers, who
have adopted more mainstream approaches to adult development
and/oraging. Regardless ofthe par- ticular approach and/or focus of the
chapter, all the work reported herein sup- ports the relatively recent
idea that development is not restricted to children and adolescents but
continues throughout the adult lifespan in ways that we never
envisionedsome 20 years ago. Thus, the volume represents
state-of-the-arttheory, research, and practice on adult development,
which has the potential to occupy us all for some time to come.