COCON – A Multi-Cohort, Multi-Informant Panel Study. A theoretical framework and key findings for development and mastery of life-course transitions of children, adolescents, and young adults in Switzerland

Abstract

COCON (COmpetence and CONtext) is an interdisciplinary longitudinal multi-cohort and multi-informant study with a focus on how children, adolescents, and young adults in Switzerland master developmental tasks and transitions in the institutionalized early life course, given unequal resources and opportunities inherent in their contexts of growing up. Based on the unique features of the study and its design, the data provide strong evidence for interindividual differences in children’s and adolescents’ competence development and their associations with opportunities and demands related to different social contexts. Findings also highlight how individual agency unfolds over time and dynamically relates to the mutual influence of important socialization agents in children’s and adolescents’ lives (parents, teachers) when coping with educational transitions. Exemplary findings are discussed with regard to the conceptual framework and signature features of the study, providing novel evidence for the study of child and adolescent development and potential implications.