Turning Points and Transitions: Perceptions of the Life Course

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.