Dimensions of Human Behavior The Changing Life Course

Dimensions of Human Behavior: The Changing Life Course Chapter 1 A Life Course Perspective

KEY POINTS ADDRESSED o o What is the Life Course Perspective? Key Concepts n n n o Major Themes n n n o Cohort Transition Trajectory Life event Turning Points Interplay of human lives and historical time Timing of lives Linked or interdependent lives Human agency in making choices Diversity in life course trajectories Developmental risk and protection Life Course Perspective Criticism Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

What is the Life Course Perspective? The life course perspective … o looks at how chronological age, relationships, common life transitions, and social change shape people’s lives from birth to death o calls attention to how historical time, social location, and culture affect the individual experience of each life stage recognizes that life is not a straight path, but has both continuities and twists and turns o Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Key Concepts: Cohort: Life Course perspective -- Individuals born during an identified historical time and experience a unique set of social and cultural events that shapes their behavior Social Science perspective -- Individuals who share unique demographic or statistical characteristics.

Key Concepts: Cohort A cohort’s sex ratio: o is the number of males per 100 females o affects a cohort’s marriage rates, childbearing practices, crime rates, and family stability Sex ratios at birth have been lower for blacks than for whites in the United States …. fewer black boy babies are born per 100 girl babies than is the case in the white population Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Key Concepts: Transition: Changes in roles and responsibilities that differ noticeably from previous roles Each transition changes statuses and roles and generally is accompanied by exits and entrances into and out of roles. Happens in all aspects of life: Within family life: marriages, births, divorces, remarriages Within organizations: educational, employment, or career changes Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Key Concepts: Trajectory: Multiple transitions The path from one transition to the next Long-term pattern of stability and change …. lives are made up of multiple, intersecting trajectories Health Trajectory Family life Trajectory Education Trajectory Work Trajectory Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Key Concepts: Life Event: Significant occurrence, clearly identifiable happening requiring adjustment to daily life Involves a relatively abrupt change that may produce serious and long-lasting effects. . . transitions gradual … life events more abrupt Specific life events have different meanings to various individuals and to various collectivities. Life events’ inventories are biased toward events more commonly experienced by certain groups of people: young adults, men, whites, and the middleclass Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Key Concepts: Turning Points: Life events that cause major shifts in life trajectory… n n n either closed or open opportunities make a lasting change on the person’s environment change a person’s self-concept, beliefs, or expectations Most life course pathways include multiple turning points Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Key Concepts: From Transition to Turning Point A transition becomes a turning point when: 1. It occurs simultaneously with a crisis or is followed by a crisis 2. It involves family conflict over the needs and wants of individuals and the greater good of the family unit 3. It is “off-time, ” meaning that it does not occur at the typical stage in life 4. It is followed by unforeseen negative consequences 5. It requires exceptional social adjustments Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Consider: o o o Identify the cohort of which you are a member – how might this cohort be the same or different from your classmates? What were the significant life course events or transitions that influenced your decision to study social work? Do you anticipate that your experiences in the social work program will be a life event, turning point, trajectory, transition? Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: o o o Interplay of human lives and historical time Timing of lives Linked or interdependent lives Human agency in making choices Diversity in life course trajectories Developmental risk and protection Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Interplay of Human Lives and Historical Time Changes in other social institutions impinge on family and individual life course trajectories Historical time may produce cohort effects n Cohort effects: distinctive formative experiences …. shared at the same point in the life course …. have a lasting impact on a birth cohort Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Timing of lives o o The age at which specific life events and transitions occur Entrances and exits from particular statuses and roles are noted as …. “off-time” or “on-time” …. based on social norms or shared expectations about the timing of such transitions Age norms vary • across historical time and across societies • by gender, race, ethnicity, and social class within a given time/society Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Timing of Lives Biological Age: n person’s level of biological development and physical health Psychological Age: n n n capacities that people have skills used to adapt to changing biological and environmental demands the age they think themselves to be Social Age: n age-graded roles and behaviors expected by society Spiritual Age: n current position in the ongoing search for meaning and morally fulfilling relationships Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Timing of Lives Age Structuring: the standardizing of the ages at which social role transitions occur by developing policies and laws that regulate the timing of these transitions. Laws and Regulations about the ages for: Driving Compulsory education Working (child labor) Pensions and social insurance Holding public office Being tried as an adult Marrying Drinking Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Timing of Lives Conundrum Question About ? ? ? Age-graded social roles and statuses? ? ? …. toward greater standardization or …. toward greater diversification Life patterns seem to be becoming -- at the same time -more standardized and more diversified. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Consider: Given the Timing of Lives Conundrum: o How would the ‘timing of lives’ themes help a social worker to understand the uniqueness of David Sanchez’s, Mahdi’s, and Suarez Family’s life course? o How would a social worker use the research about regularities in the ‘timing of lives’ to develop interventions? Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Linked or Interdependent Lives Relationships support and control individual behavior o Within family… n n n connection between family hardship, family nurturance, and child behaviors economic connection between parents and children parents provide social capital for their children as role models and networks of social support Effects greater for children living in high-poverty areas marked by violence and environmental health hazards o o Within workplace Within neighborhood Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Linked or Interdependent Lives also linked in systems of institutionalized privilege and oppression The life trajectories of members of minority groups in the United States are marked by discrimination and lack of opportunity, which are experienced pervasively as daily insults and pressures. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Linked or Interdependent Lives linked around the world: o o The lifestyles of people in affluent countries depend on cheap labor and cheap raw products in less affluent countries. Children and women in impoverished countries labor long hours to make an increasing share of low-cost products consumed in affluent countries. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Human Agency in Making Choices Human Agency: the use of personal power to achieve one’s goals Individuals’ choices are constrained by the structural and cultural arrangements of a given historical era Three types of human agency personal agency -- use of personal power proxy agency -- actions of some on behalf of others collective agency -- accomplished through group action. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Diversity in Life Course Trajectories Differences in life course trajectories created by: o Unique historical events each cohort encounters o Differing patterns of social networks in which persons are embedded o Different locations in the global economy o Individual differences in planning and making choices Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Diversity in Life Course Trajectories Variables create differences from one cohort to another as well as differences among the individuals within a cohort n Age norms change with time and place and culture n n Age norms vary by gender, race, ethnicity, and social class Age norms vary by social location or place in the social structure of a given society Men’s life course trajectories are more rigidly structured, with fewer discontinuities than women’s. Social class differences in educational trajectories: Affluent youth go to school and postpone entry into adult work and family roles. Less affluent youth enter earlier into these roles Family life trajectories in minority groups in the United States are different from those of whites. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Diversity in Life Course Trajectories A Special Note about Immigration Complexity of the migration experience adds layers to gender, race, social class, and age diversity issue. Family roles often have to be renegotiated as children outstrip older family members in learning the new language. Tensions can also develop over conflicting approaches to the acculturation process. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Developmental Risk and Protection Highlights the strong links between the life events and transitions of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood … childhood events sometimes shape people’s lives 40 or 50 years later Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Developmental Risk and Protection Concepts of cumulative advantage and cumulative disadvantage explain inequality within cohorts. n n Cumulative advantage: mechanisms that ensure increasing advantage for those who succeed early in life. Cumulative disadvantage: increasing disadvantage for those who struggle early in life. Cumulative advantage and cumulative disadvantage are socially constructed. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Developmental Risk Factors o o Any influence that increases the probability of onset of a negative outcome for individual, family, community, group, etc. Factors which lead to detrimental consequences for individuals, families, etc. o Something that's likely to increase the chances that a particular negative event will occur. o Characteristics or conditions associated with adversity. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Developmental Risk Without intervention that reverses the trajectory, early experiences are likely to lead to cumulative disadvantage. POVERTY Poor health Poor educational outcome Lack of medical care Low birth rate Cumulative Disadvantage Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Developmental Protection Researchers have begun to understand: That resilience -- the ability of some people to fare well in the face of risk factors …. may produce …. a cumulative effect based on protective factors Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Major Themes: Developmental Protection THUS, early deprivations and traumas do not inevitably lead to a trajectory of failure. Individual trajectories may be moderated by: … human agency… historical events … environmental supports. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Life Course Perspective Criticism Life course perspective: o Has not been used to consider diversity of experiences on a global level … thus currently only applies to affluent, late industrial societies o Fails to adequately link the micro world of individual and family lives to the macro world of social institutions and formal organizations Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective

Consider: David Sanchez, Mahdi’s, the Suarez Family How does the Life Course Perspective: o o o o Draw attention to the impact of historical and social change on human behavior issues for each case Attend to biological, psychological, and social processes in the timing of their lives… demonstrate a good fit with a biopsychosocial perspective. Spotlight the intergenerational relationships and the interdependence of their lives. Focus attention to human agency and acknowledges their strengths and capacity for change. Provide evidence for the malleability of risk factors and the possibilities for preventive interventions in their lives Provide a conceptual framework for culturally sensitive practice to work with each of these individuals and their families. Consider the cumulative advantage and cumulative disadvantage and the impact of power and privilege for these individuals and their families Suggest strategies for social justice as it applies to these individuals and their families. Chapter 1: Life Course Perspective