Pathways to adulthood

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
John Bynner ◽  
Walter R. Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Family Activity ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Supplies a broad overview of the themes pursued through the different chapters. The overriding theme is structural and cultural change affecting contexts and pathways to adulthood in two European societies that differ in their institutional fabric - England and Germany. Change in family relationships and identity construction, transformations in education, labour markets, politics and media are highlighted. The life course perspective that informs the theoretical framework of the book is introduced. The impact on and over shadowing of all youth and family activity through the COVID-19 virus is also addressed as precursor to the main discussion in Chapter 8

Researching African Diasporas

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Tumani Malinga ◽  
Tirelo Modie-Moroka
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Intercontinental migrations, forced or volitional, are not new to Africans. While several research and studies have been conducted on the impact of migration on host countries as well as the brain-drain experienced by African countries, there is a scarcity of research on the real experiences of African migrants. This chapter proposes such research, using the life course perspective and qualitative research strategy in order to get a broader understanding of the lives of African diasporas. The life course perspective highlights the transitions, social meanings, and cumulative nature of the migrants' experiences, while the qualitative approach allows for tapping into the lived experiences of individuals through their personal narratives. Both are necessary for a more purposeful examination and realistic understanding of the African diaspora.

Developmental and Life-Course Theories of Crime

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Renae McGee ◽  
David P. Farrington
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Antisocial Behavior ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Single Type ◽  
Life Course Criminology ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Developmental and life-course theories of crime are collectively characterized by their goal of explaining the onset, persistence, and desistance of offending behavior over the life-course. Researchers working within this framework are interested not just in offending but also in the broader category of antisocial behavior. Their research aims to investigate the development of offending and antisocial behavior throughout life; risk and protective factors that predict this development; the effects of life events; and the intergenerational transmission of offending and antisocial behavior. While there have been a number of developmental and life-course theories of crime, the more influential and empirically tested ones include Sampson and Laub’s age-graded informal social control theory and Moffitt’s typological model of life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited offending. While developmental and life-course criminology has come to be viewed a single type or grouping of criminology, there are distinctions between the more sociological life-course perspectives and the more psychological developmental perspectives. These are a result of the disciplinary training of the individuals working in the field and are reflected in the types of variables examined and the theoretical explanations developed and applied to explain the relationships. The broader life-course perspective focuses on the examination of human lives over time, with an understanding that “changing lives alter developmental trajectories,” according to Glen Elder in his 1998 work. Life-course approaches to studying human development are not unique to criminology and are represented within many disciplines, such as medicine and epidemiology. There are four central themes of the life-course paradigm: the interplay of human lives and historical times; the timing of lives; linked or interdependent lives; and human agency in making choices. Therefore the life-course perspective within criminology focuses on the examination of criminal behavior within these contexts. Given its sociological origins, life-course theoretical explanations tend to focus more on social processes and structures and their impact on crime. Developmental perspectives within criminology tend to be more psychological in nature, and its theoretical explanations tend to focus more on individual characteristics and the impact of familial processes on the individual. Both of these perspectives require longitudinal data, that is, data collected over time for each individual. Collectively, developmental and life-course criminology allow for the examination of: within-individual changes over time; the impact of critical life events; the importance of the social environment; and pathways, transitions and turning points.

Sexuality Across the Life Course

Sociology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shari M. Blumenstock ◽  
John DeLamater
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
The Body ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Sexual Expression ◽  
Biopsychosocial Perspective ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Sexuality is a multidimensional aspect of human life that includes sexual behaviors, sexual feelings, and sexual orientation (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology article “Sexualities” by Nancy Fischer). Sexual expression is influenced by psychological factors such as attitudes, emotions, and the learned residues of past experience, as well as social factors such as social norms and laws, and one’s social identities and relationships, including (potential) partners and social networks. Sexuality and sexual expression also have a biological base, as genetic inheritance and the resulting anatomy and physiology of the human body set the parameters of human sexual behavior, both solo and partnered. Thus, we need a biopsychosocial perspective to incorporate the relevant influences on an individual’s sexual expression and lifestyle. Sexuality and its expression play critical roles throughout an individual’s life. Scholars have often focused on sexuality in a single stage of life—childhood, adolescence, adulthood, later life—or within a specific type of relationship—noncommitted (i.e., casual or “hookups”), premarital, marital, divorced, cohabiting. In reality, sexuality undergoes a continuous process of development from birth to death. Thus, in addition to a biopsychosocial perspective, we need a perspective that has the breadth to encompass this lifelong process. The life course perspective (see the separate Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology article “Life Course” by Deborah Carr) is based upon four key assumptions: 1) lives are embedded in and shaped by historical context; 2) individuals construct their own lives, within the constraints of historical and social context; 3) lives are intertwined through social relationships; and 4) the meaning and impact of a life transition depends on when it occurs. Applied to sexuality, this perspective recognizes the impact of biology via inheritance at birth; biological processes such as puberty, menopause, and aging; and influences related to the body. The historical and social context, particularly extant norms and laws relating to sexual practices, intersecting social identities, and relationships is also important. Sexual expression is further influenced by families, social networks, and intimate relationships. Moreover, within the constraints related to their biological, social, and historical contexts, individuals exercise agency and play an active role in constructing their sexuality. Lastly, life events, and their timing, have a major impact on an individual’s current and later sexuality (e.g., consider the effects of pregnancy at 15 versus 25 versus 45 years of age). Combining an interdisciplinary biopsychosocial perspective on sexuality with a broad life course perspective on the influences on individuals’ lives yields a powerful and nuanced analysis of sexual expression throughout life.

Connecting families? An introduction

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Barbara Barbosa Neves ◽  
Cláudia Casimiro
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Work Family ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Empirical Approaches

This book examines how information and communication technologies (ICTs) relate to family life (including intergenerational relationships, routines, norms, work, intimacy, and privacy). Drawing on theoretical, methodological, and empirical approaches, it explores how ICTs are used and integrated in family dynamics and what opportunities and challenges arise from that use in a life course perspective. The book features contributions from researchers who attended conferences of the International Sociological Association (ISA), the last of which was held in 2016 in Vienna, Austria. Topics include technology adoption within family and the life course; the use of communication technologies such as emailing and texting for the maintenance of intergenerational solidarity; the impact of ICTs on storytelling processes among transnational families; and how ICTs affect the permeability of work–family borders. This chapter explains the concepts of family, generations, ICTs, and the life course before concluding with an overview of the organisation of the book.

scholarly journals New Perspectives on Loneliness: From Micro Qualitative to Macro Quantitative Cross-National Comparisons

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 609-609
Author(s):  
Marja Aartsen
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Effective Prevention ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Longitudinal research revealed a number of micro-level drivers of loneliness, such as widowhood, exclusion from the wider society, ill health and migrant status, but a number of questions are still unanswered. For example, the prevalence of loneliness varies substantially across countries, but we do not know precisely what causes these differences. It may be due to differences in the composition of the populations, it may also be caused by macro-level drivers, or by variations in the impact of risk factors between countries. For example, losing a spouse may be loneliness provoking in countries where living with a partner is the norm, but less so in countries where living alone is more valued. Also how early childhood and events over the life course affect the level of loneliness in later life is still under-researched. The aim of our symposium is to address this gap by presenting different perspectives on loneliness and social isolation. The first presenter interprets five-year follow-up information from qualitative interviews with a life course perspective. The second investigates the role of trust as factor producing social integration, which leads to variations in loneliness. The third compares and discusses loneliness in three different continents, based on an ecological model of contexts. The forth presenter critically discusses ways to measure loneliness in societies that are culturally distinct from western cultures. The last presenter discusses the dynamics between loneliness and material deprivation in Europe. The findings provide a new lens through which we can understand loneliness and inform about effective prevention.

Concluding Discussion to Part I

2021 ◽  
pp. 195-204
Author(s):  
Ellen Swift ◽  
Jo Stoner ◽  
April Pudsey
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Infants And Children ◽  
Daily Experience ◽  
Infancy And Childhood ◽  
Post Menopause ◽  
The Life Course

In this concluding discussion, evidence is brought together from the different categories of dress objects considered to examine further how people were assisted by objects in achieving social goals, and how these objects contributed to daily experience. Initially, the artefacts are examined from a life course perspective, in order to further illuminate the important roles and functions of dress objects at particular life course stages, a theme already evident in previous chapters. Particular types of dress objects associated with the life course stages of infancy and childhood, puberty up to menopause, and post-menopause, and their roles in life course rituals and identity construction are discussed. For infants and children, socialization and protection are important functions, while for adults, identities relating to fertility and married status are key. It is suggested that older women wore less jewellery than younger ones, and that gifting of jewellery within families was important in relation to life course stages and rituals. The various functions of dress objects in cementing and facilitating wider family and community relationships are also discussed.

scholarly journals Initiation, Desistence, and Recovery: A Qualitative Examination of Self-Injury from a Life-Course Perspective

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Wojciechowski
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Risk And Protective Factors ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Control Theory ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Criminological Perspective ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Self-injury is typically defined as the intentional harm caused to one’s own body. This phenomenon has historically been studied mainly from a psychological perspective and has focused less on social forces related to engagement in this behavior. While research on self-injury has examined etiology extensively, there has yet to be an examination of how changes in exposure to risk and protective factors may lead to changes in self-injury habits. This research uses qualitative interview data from 16 former and current self-injurers to examine self-injury from a life-course criminological perspective (Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox, 2014). These data allowed for identification of concepts associated with social learning theory, general strain theory, social control theory, and social support theory as important risk and protective factors associated with self-injury. Further, this identification allowed for an examination of how the application and withdrawal of these risk and protective factors led to changes in self-injury habits. Future research should seek to generalize these results and further clarify the impact of risk and protective factors across the life-course.

scholarly journals A life course perspective: young people's trajectories and transitions in Colombia

2022 ◽  
pp. 79-100
Author(s):  
Alba Y. Varón ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Economic Standpoint

This paper aims to describe, from the standpoint of the life course, how young people's trajectories are shaped through the articulation between history and biography, emphasizing the changes associated with the meaning of the family and, from an economic standpoint, how the growing uncertainty resulting partly from the impact of the globalization of the labor market, social changes and cultural transformations, causing young people to stop experiencing linear trajectories, leaving current itineraries and collective identities at risk.

scholarly journals Joint Family and Work Trajectories and Multidimensional Wellbeing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Comolli ◽  
L. Bernardi ◽  
M. Voorpostel
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Social Origin ◽  
Employment Trajectories ◽  
Family And Work ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Family Trajectories

AbstractInformed by the life course perspective, this paper investigates whether and how employment and family trajectories are jointly associated with subjective, relational and financial wellbeing later in life. We draw on data from the Swiss Household Panel which combines biographical retrospective information on work, partnership and childbearing trajectories with 19 annual waves containing a number of wellbeing indicators as well as detailed socio-demographic and social origin information. We use sequence analysis to identify the main family and work trajectories for men and women aged 20–50 years old. We use OLS regression models to assess the association between those trajectories and their interdependency with wellbeing. Results reveal a joint association between work and family trajectories and wellbeing at older age, even net of social origin and pre-trajectory resources. For women, but not for men, the association is also not fully explained by proximate (current family and work status) determinants of wellbeing. Women’s stable full-time employment combined with traditional family trajectories yields a subjective wellbeing premium, whereas childlessness and absence of a stable partnership over the life course is associated with lower levels of financial and subjective wellbeing after 50 especially in combination with a trajectory of weak labour market involvement. Relational wellbeing is not associated with employment trajectories, and only weakly linked to family trajectories among men.

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