Turning Points and Transitions: Perceptions of the Life Course

Abstract

This study uses American (Manchester, New Hampshire) and Japanese (Shizuoka) cohorts in 1910-1950 to explore the similarities and differences between "life-course transitions, " defined as the movements of individuals and families within socially constructed time-tables; and "life-course turning points," which represent individuals' subjective assessment of continuities and discontinuities over their lives. Considerable differences are found among cohorts in each society, but there are also similarities that cut across both societies. Whereas cultural differences in the timing of life transitions and the subjective construction of the life course are significant, the common experience of cohorts in response to shared historical events may transcend cultural differences.

Forks in the Road: Memories of Turning Points and Transitions

“…Moreover, many definitions of turning points stress the need for temporal distance in the evaluation of the event, suggesting that turning points can only be subjectively identified once a new life path has been established (Hareven & Masaoka, ; Wheaton & Gotlib, ). In other words, turning points are not always identifiable as such at the time of occurrence (Clausen, ).…”

“…Some researchers incorporate social and cultural components to the concept of transitions, defining them as normative status changes (Rutter, ) or movements within socially constructed time tables (Hareven & Masaoka, ). Normative transitions are often expected, socially prescribed transitions that usually occur within a certain limited time frame (e.g., marriage, retirement).…”

A new research framework for family resource management applied to financial preparedness of mid‐life working couplesa

“…He added a pre-adulthood stage comprising children and adolescents, a mature single adult stage (never married) and a single parent stage. This revised life cycle respected the reality that 'consumption [and resource management] generally takes place within one of three familial contexts: (1) the family of origin; (2) the family of procreation; and, (3) the mature singlehood house- 7,8,22 Allows us to see similarities in progression of people through predictable stages in life despite the context; assumes that people move through predictable stages of life, learning necessary tasks to move them through successive stages; when people move from one stage to another, society expects changes in roles and behaviour commensurate with the new life stage Life spiral (evolution) 21 Allows us to capture the intergenerational context of individual's lives; it accommodates oscillation between degrees of closeness, enmeshment and distance as families come apart, rebuild and come together again from one generation to another; value foundations, decisions and patterns of relationships made by one generation will have a ripple effect on other generations of the family Life transition 3,[23][24][25] Accommodates the unplanned or crisis events in life which occur as we move from different situations in our life; assumes that employment status, marital status, degree of dependence, housing status, stage in life cycle, etc., have profound implications for financial resource management; there are no normative expectations in changes in roles, although roles will most certainly change Life course (transition and evolution) 3,11,26,27 Allows us to see differences in the course of each person's life owing to the changing richness and complexity of the context of their life (social, family and historical); special focus on age cohorts and transitions; assumes that the course of one's life can change as a result of changes in one's larger life environment (social demographic shifts, historical factors and cultural factors) as well as changes to one's self Spheres of influence 30,31 Assumes that there are eight spheres of influence on individuals' lives regardless of where they live, what stage of the life cycle they are in, or the generation they live in, influences ranging from: the cosmos and biosphere to the power sphere, community, family and individual to the unknown and the unknowable S. McGregor and M. Bateman Ellison • A research framework for family resource management hold, e.g., "the family of one"' (p. 212). He further suggested the stage of mature marrieds without children but did not add it to his framework.…”

“…A transition is normative if a major proportion of the population experiences it and if society expects its members to undergo such a transition at a certain point in their lives. 23 To illustrate, there are no normative expectations about a couple who wins a lottery (an event) but norms and expectations become foremost when a couple get married (an event). Aldous 11 also distinguished between 'expectable normative changes' (e.g.…”

“…Even when transitions are voluntary, their timing may be involuntary especially if the age at which they occur is legally defined. 3,23 Humans strive for predictability and want to know what lies ahead. Unpredictable life transitions or transitions which are off-time (e.g.…”