# COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL MATURITY IN ADULTHOOD AND AGING

> **NIH NIH R01** · WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY · 1992 · $257,110

## Abstract

There has been a surge of recent interest in adaptive and progressive
aspects of adult and later life cognitive development, but no research has
been aimed, as yet at examining various components of the resulting
conceptual and empirical framework within a single research project.  Nor
has there been any effort at attempting to disentangle the relative
contributions of age/maturation and time/cohort change effects.  This study
aims to test, within an integrated, sequential design, the hypothesis that
there are two distinct components of cognitive-emotional maturity.  The
first is primarily concerned with reflective thinking and cognitive
complexity, while the second is primarily related to social maturity and
flexibility of defense.  These two components are also hypothesized to be a
function of different environmental antecedents, the first being mediated
primarily by environmental complexity, the second by family relationships
promoting security.  Delineating and defining these different components of
cognitive-emotional maturity and their course through adulthood will help
refine our theoretical and empirical understanding of the nature of
healthy, adaptive late life development.

The proposed 5-year research project employs a combination of longitudinal
and cross-sectional sequences.  At time 1, a sample of 432 adults,
stratified by age, sex, and age/cohort group, will be obtained.  These
individuals will be retested at Time 2.  In addition, a new independent
stratified sample of 216 adults will be obtained at Time 2.

The research employs a confirmatory factor analytic method.  In separate
analyses, the research examines a structural model of the relationship
between hypothesized dimensions of cognitive-emotional maturity, reflective
cognition and social maturity.  First, the relationship between these
dimensions and more traditional dimensions of intellectual functioning
(crystallized and fluid intelligence) will be examined; second a model
about different environmental determinants (organizational/control and
relationship) of the two cognitive-emotional dimensions will be developed;
and third, a structural causal model of the effect of these environmental
precursors on adult cognitive-emotional maturity will be tested.
Descriptive MANOVAS also will be performed in an attempt to disentangle the
effects related to age/maturation vs. those due to time/cohort change,
testing/instrumentation, and experimental mortality.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3120978
- **Project number:** 5R01AG009203-02
- **Recipient organization:** WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** M6K6NTJ2MNE5
- **Principal Investigator:** GISELA LABOUVIE-VIEF
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $257,110
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1991-07-01 → 1996-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3120978

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3120978, COGNITIVE EMOTIONAL MATURITY IN ADULTHOOD AND AGING (5R01AG009203-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3120978. Licensed CC0.

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