Conclusion and discussion: what we can gain from a dynamic systems approach to psychosocial development in adolescence

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book describes the ideal research design for testing the adolescent phase transition hypothesis, examining variability at multiple timescales and using more than just anomalous variance as an indicator of the phase transition. It addresses the topic of psychological and educational interventions from a dynamic systems approach. The book presents a framework that re-conceptualizes clinical change and psychological interventions. It also presents a theoretical model entitled the socially embedded self-esteem model, which stresses the need to conceptualize moment-to-moment processes of self-esteem as part of the parent–child system. The book focuses on a crucial applied topic in late adolescence, namely, university dropout. It shows how a dynamic systems approach allows for a deeper understanding of the complexity of peer processes in youth’s peer dynamics, and specifically, in the domain of peer bullying.