Life-span development: refreshing a theoretical and practice perspective

Although the life-span development framework has been utilized by social scientists since the 1970s, the discipline of nursing is overdue in recognition and use of this theoretical and methodological framework. The framework's unique focus on biological (normative age-graded), sociohistorical (normative history-graded), and non-normative influences (events occurring out of synchrony) provides a constructive approach to research with both individuals and families.