The Life Course and Life Span
Perspectives:
History and Overview
Toni C. Antonucci
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Presentation to
The MacArthur Foundation Aging Society Network
New York, New York
September 16-17, 2008
Introduction
Why take a life course and life span
perspective on aging?
A brief history
Previously Most Social Scientists
Specialized
Infancy
Race, Class, Ethnicity
Childhood
Organizations
Adolescence Gender
Aging
Work, Employment
Family
Generations
Most Developmental Scientists
Specialized, Dichotomizing by Age
CHILDHOOD
Growth
Increasing
organization
Structural
differentiation
AGING
Decline
Disorganization
Dedifferentiation
Why?



In addition to the changing societal
demographics and the reshaping age
distribution …
The demise of the “Grand Theory”
A new awareness of the multiple
levels of influence
Integrating Theories
(Bio)ecological Theory
Social and Symbolic Interactionism
Theory
Both theories emphasized the dynamic interplay
between person and environment
Eventually both theories became life long,
recognizing the importance of a dynamic life
course and ongoing life span development
LINKING MACRO TO MICRO MULTIPLE LEVELS OF
INFLUENCE
Environment/Culture/Society
Family/community
Individual
YOU
Gene/Biology
Life Span/Life Course Sequence
Normal Development:
Stage 1  Stage 2  Stage 3
Under Stress:
Stage 1  Stage 2  Stress  Return to
Stage 1  with recovery Return to Stage 2
Similarly Under Later Stress:
Stage 1  Stage 2  Stage 3  Stress 
Return to Stage 2 with Recovery Return
to Stage 3
Life Span/Life Course Sequence
Environment  Outcome
We came to understand that environment
could not explain all
Gene  Outcome
We them thought that the identification of
the human genome would explain all
It is now pretty clear that most things are
best explained by
Gene x Environment  Outcome
Differences
Life Span Life Course
Individual
Groups
Processes
Social pathways
Trajectories
Roles, transitions
Endogenous (micro) Exogenous (macro)
Similarities in the Life Span and
Life Course Perspectives
Understand Human Experience to be:
Long-term/life long; Multilevel;
Contextual;
Dynamic
Influenced by macro & micro factors
Gains and losses; Risks and
resiliencies
Aging Differs by Cohort
With the demise of the “Grand Theory”
comes recognition that people may
experience age differently
or
It might have been the reverse – without
undeniable cohort differences, Grand
Theories seemed less likely
Generations
1880
GEN 1
GEN 1
1900
GEN 1
1910
1920
GEN 1
GEN 2
GEN 2
1940
GEN 2
1950
GEN 2
GEN 3
1970
1980
GEN 3
GEN 3
GEN 4
GEN 3
GEN 4
1990
GEN 4
GEN 4
2010
1980
1990
2000
2010
Major Themes
Life Course Research
Life Span Research
Age Stratification
Individual Differences
Cohort and Historical
Period Effects
Adaptivity & Plasticity
Accumulation of
(in)equalities
Allocation of Resources
Linked Lives
Self-regulation
Differential Trajectories and Pathways of Aging
Age Stratification
Normative age structuring
Age stratification
Social Institutions stratify, segment,
construct lives
Many institutions stratify by age, e.g.
education, work, retirement
Age Stratification
Chronologization - saliency of age and
time
Institutionalization - construction of
life course by organizations
Standardization - normativity of life
course patterns
Cohort and Historical Period Effect
People are embedded and shaped by
time, place and experience
These trigger change
The timeline/cohort figure is
illustrative
Cohort and Historical Period Effect
Timing in lives, e.g. Elder’s 4 types:
1. Social pathways
2. Trajectories
3. Exit transitions
4. Transitions
Accumulation of Advantages and
Disadvantages
Status disparities
wealth, knowledge, health, etc.
Life course capital
Consistent predictor of opportunities,
accomplishments, exposure to risk
Cumulative and transgenerational
Linked Lives
Linked Directly –
Father’s employment effects family
income/resources
Linked Indirectly Multigenerational effects of the
Feminist Movement or the Great
Depression
Individual Differences
Functional ability – intelligence
Social relationships
attachment
Disposition – personality
Individual Differences are
multidirectional
multidimensional
Adaptivity and Plasticity
Adaptation to change –
both positive and negative
growth and losses
Plasticity –
within person variability
testing the limits
Self - Regulation
Interaction of biological and
cultural/environmental resources
Strategies of selection, optimization
and compensation
Human Agency/motivation
Conceptions of
Development
Personological
Maturational,
Etc.
Basic
Determinants
Major Antecedent
Systems of Change
Ontogenetic
Age-Graded
Biological
Bioenvironmental
Dialetectical
Evolutionary
History-Graded
Interactions
Environmental
Non-Normative
Learning
Socialization
Time
Figure Adapted from Baltes, Cornelius & Nesselroade, 1978
Baltes 1997
Differential Pathways and
Trajectories of Aging
Subgroup differences in social pathways of
aging e.g. by education, SES, gender,
race, family, roles, interest in distribution
of disparities in trajectories, interindividual
differences
Individual differences in trajectories of
intraindividual change e.g. changes in
behaviors and functioning, intelligence,
personality, stability and change
Differential Pathways and
Trajectories of Aging
With age greater Heterogeneity –
with more experience, more
differences
With age greater Homogeneity –
with age selective attrition
Contemporary Evidence
Age-stratification of society –
changing nature of work and family roles,
education, gender roles
e.g. work and the “Fordist” model versus
“patchwork” model
e.g. family roles – Father knows best,
Betty Crocker, the Brady Bunch
the Osborn’s
Contemporary Evidence
Attitudes about Aging
increasingly positive
divergence of young and old
divergence general vs. specific
Effect of Demographics and the Baby
Boomers
Contemporary Evidence
Cumulative Inequalities
evidence re SES effects
health
ethnic groups – cohorts/generation
Civil Rights
Hispanic Paradox
African / Caribbean American
Health over the Life Course
Chronic versus acute stressors
health
Stress model
moderating effects e.g. social
relations which may attenuate
influence of stress on health
mediating effects e.g. social support
explaining the association between
stress and health
Social roles of men and women
Cumulative effects of linked lives
Roles (work, family) changing but
aging is still gendered
Current cohorts are different from
future cohorts
Implications – e.g. men have material,
women have emotional resources
Flexibility suggests adaptability
Changing family and
intergenerational connections
Changing families –
structure of families
type of support available
quality of relationships
But despite changes families seem to
maintain same purpose and function
Changing family and
intergenerational connections
Intergenerational relations –
as social capital
bidirectional transfers
Positive and Negative influences,
exchanges, resources
Changing family and
intergenerational connections
People adapt as needed,
socioemotional selectivity e.g.
change investment strategy
People are shaped by the personal and
situational characteristics – convoys
– which provide support and in turn
influence their heath and well-being
Life long adaptation and plasticity
Cognitive functioning
early abilities  later declines
interventions can be successful
behavioral interventions can have
neurological effects
Life long adaptation and plasticity
Personality, motivation, emotion and social
engagement
Some aspects of personality do change and are
affected by life events
Motivation may be increasingly affected by
social relations
Emotional optimization in later life
Social engagement is modifiable
Cohort differences in
trajectories of aging
Trends in cognitive functioning
Trends in physical disability
Trends in retirement
Gaps in current knowledge about
changes
Emerging phases of old age
Globalization and international migration
Impact of social movements
Efforts to reduce disparities
Impact of initiatives about successful aging
Gaps in current knowledge about
changes
Additional issues:
structural lag
limited resources
institutionalization of responsibility
e.g. of health
ethics re new technological advances
attitudes re rights and responsibilities
Intervention Opportunities
Global – governments, communities to
intervene
widespread education of population
anti-aging/stereotype campaigns
limited resources
Societal – social programs, mutual
responsibility, enhanced intergenerational
roles, increase trained professionals
Intervention Opportunities
Community level interventions:
community based centers both social
and medical
facilitate activity for older adults e.g.
transportation, lighting, sidewalks
roles for elders in the community
Intervention Opportunities
Community level interventions:
community based centers both social
and medical
facilitate activity for older adults e.g.
transportation, lighting, sidewalks
roles for elders in the community
Intervention Opportunities
Individual level interventions:
cognitive training
exercise and nutrition
interventions re decision-making
maintain social engagement
active family and community roles
In summary to address the needs
of an Aging Society, we must:
Take a human development approach that combines the
strengths of both the life course and the life span
perspectives
Build on disciplinary strengths, from cellular biology to
demographics, but leave behind our disciplinary biases
Think of aging from birth to death so that
life time experiences inform both research and policy
Consider aging a proactive, interactive, individual,
intergenerational and societal experience