Journal Article

New Directions in Life Course Research

Mayer, Karl Ulrich

2009

Overview

Life courses are studied in sociology and neighboring fields as developmental processes, as culturally and normatively constructed life stages and age roles, as biographical meanings, as aging processes, as outcomes of institutional regulation and policies, as demographic accounts, or as mere empirical connectivity across the life course. This review has two aims. One is to report on trends in life course research by focusing on empirical studies published since the year 2000. The other is to assess the overall development of the field. Major advances can be observed in four areas: national individual-level longitudinal databases, the impact of institutional contexts on life courses, life four under conditions of societal ruptures, and health across the life course. In four other areas, advancements have been less pronounced: internal dynamics and causal linkages across life, the interaction of development and socially constructed life courses, theory development, and new methods. Overall, life course sociology still has far to go to reach its full potential.

• Publisher: Annual Reviews,Annual Reviews, Inc
• Subject: Adolescence / Adulthood / Age / Ageing / Aging / Childhood / Courses / Cultural Values / Demographics / Developmental processes / Differentiation and Stratification / Globalization / Health / History and organization of sociology / History and present state / History, theory and methodology / Human development / Individual differences / Life / Life course / Life Stage Transitions / Life transitions / Longitudinal studies / Meaning / Methodology / Millennium / Observational research / Population aging / Regulation / Shopping / Social construction / Social psychology / Social research / Sociological research / Sociology / Theory Formation / Trajectories / Trends