Societal Transformation in Norway and Change in the Life Course Transition Into Adulthood

Since World War I Norway has been transformed from a predominantly rural into a highly industrialized urban society, making it an ideal site for examining the relationship between industrial change and the temporal organization of the life course. This paper is part of a comprehensive effort to understand the histoncal and societal circumstances under which age becomes a more or less important basis of social organization. Using con tinuous event histories for ages 14 through 29 for cohorts born in 1921, 1931 and 1941, we analyze the allocation of person months to states that define markers of life course transitions into adulthood. Age-specific allocations of time activities are assessed, and the degree of age-grading and sequentialitv of life events such as being in school, being marned, and becoming a parent are compared for the three cohorts.