Changing Patterns of Family Life - Life Course Analysis
What is the life course?
Life course refers to the events that take place throughout an individual’s life and how they assign meaning to those
Marked by stages of an individual’s life such as childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle and old age
Decided by decisions made such as education, relationships, marriage and divorce, childbearing and retirement
Changes in the life course:
In the modern era, the life course followed a stable set of norms and values for most individuals
People would be brought up in a nuclear family, enter life-long marriages, have children and retire at 65
Changes to society in the 1950s and 1960s led to changes in the way that people made decisions about their life course- increased the diversity of personal lives
Key changes in society:
Rise of feminism
Reduced stigma over lifestyles
Increased choice and individualism
Secularisation
Legislation
Changing attitudes to relationships
De-standardisation of life course:
Green (2015)- no fixed path through life course in contemporary society as was the case in previous generations
Childbearing does not necessarily follow marriage- 48% of children born in 2018 were to unmarried parents
Education is life-long, and employment and career progression changes over time
Children increasingly dependent on parents into their early twenties and thirties
Sexuality is more fluid- people can change sexuality in later life
Research into life course:
Chester (1985)- life course analysis suggests that people will move through a stage of being in a relationship with children and this will be the norm at some stage
Allan and Crow (2001)- changes to life course mean the contemporary family is not like the traditional family
Beck-Gernsheim (2002)- families retain some traditional elements, such as structure, but differ in identity and organisation
Rapoports (1982)- Life cycle diversity and generational diversity
Evidence of life course changes:
Increased divorce compared to the 1960s
Reduction in marriages and number of children born to unmarried parents
Increased average age of marriages, increased age of first child
Changes in retirement, beanpole families, clipped-wing generation and boomerang kids
What is the life course?
Life course refers to the events that take place throughout an individual’s life and how they assign meaning to those
Marked by stages of an individual’s life such as childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle and old age
Decided by decisions made such as education, relationships, marriage and divorce, childbearing and retirement
Changes in the life course:
In the modern era, the life course followed a stable set of norms and values for most individuals
People would be brought up in a nuclear family, enter life-long marriages, have children and retire at 65
Changes to society in the 1950s and 1960s led to changes in the way that people made decisions about their life course- increased the diversity of personal lives
Key changes in society:
Rise of feminism
Reduced stigma over lifestyles
Increased choice and individualism
Secularisation
Legislation
Changing attitudes to relationships
De-standardisation of life course:
Green (2015)- no fixed path through life course in contemporary society as was the case in previous generations
Childbearing does not necessarily follow marriage- 48% of children born in 2018 were to unmarried parents
Education is life-long, and employment and career progression changes over time
Children increasingly dependent on parents into their early twenties and thirties
Sexuality is more fluid- people can change sexuality in later life
Research into life course:
Chester (1985)- life course analysis suggests that people will move through a stage of being in a relationship with children and this will be the norm at some stage
Allan and Crow (2001)- changes to life course mean the contemporary family is not like the traditional family
Beck-Gernsheim (2002)- families retain some traditional elements, such as structure, but differ in identity and organisation
Rapoports (1982)- Life cycle diversity and generational diversity
Evidence of life course changes:
Increased divorce compared to the 1960s
Reduction in marriages and number of children born to unmarried parents
Increased average age of marriages, increased age of first child
Changes in retirement, beanpole families, clipped-wing generation and boomerang kids
