DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONS AND THE LIFE COURSE: Lessons from Japanese and American Comparisons

Abstract

Three features of early life course of Americans and Europeans during the twen tieth century are of note: (1) the increased age-grading of transitions; (2) the closer spacing of different transitions, and (3) the more extensive overlap between economic and family transitions. Historical changes in the structure of individual life histories have been interpreted alternatively, as a consequence of industrialization and urbanization, or as the result of rising levels of the family and personal incomes available for consumption and investment in human capital skills. In this article we bring additional evidence to bear on this debate by comparing historical changes in the early life transitions of men and women in Japan and the United States. Trends in the transition to adulthood systematically relate to the structure of schools and labor markets in the two nations, drawing attention to the various life course implications of the institutional forms under which industrial societies may organize.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Brim, Jr., O.G. and C.D. Ryff. 1980. "On the Properties of Life Events" Pp. 368-388 in Life Span Development and Behavior, edited by P.T. Baltes and O.G. Brim , Jr. (Vol. 3). New York : Academic.

Brinton, M. 1987. "Gender Stratification and Human Capital Development Systems ." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago.

Dore, R. 1973. British Factory, Japanese Factory: The Origins of National Diversity in Industrial Relations. Berkeley : University of California Press.

Elder, Jr., G.H. 1974. Children of the Great Depression. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

___. 1978a. "Approaches To Social Change and the Family." American Journal of Sociology 84 (Supplement): S1-S38.

___. 1978b. "Family History and the Life Course" Pp. 17-64 in Transitions: The Family and the Life Course in Historical Perspective, edited by Tamara K. Hareven. New York: Academic.

___. 1986. "Military Times and Turning Points in Men's Lives ." Developmental Psychology 22:233-245.

Elder, Jr., G.H. , and Y. Meguro. 1986. "Wartime In Men's Lives: A Comparative Study of American and Japanese Cohorts." Revision of a paper presented at the 1985 meetings of the American Sociologcial Association , Washington, D.C.

Featherman, D.L. and R.M. Hauser. 1978. Opportunity and Change. New York: Academic Press.

10.

Featherman, D.L. , D.P. Hogan , and A.B. Sørensen. 1984. "Entry Into Adulthood: Profiles of Young Men in the 1950s." Pp. 159-202 in Life-Span Development and Behavior (Vol. 7), edited by P.B. Baltes and O.G. Brim, Jr. New York : Academic.

11.

Featherman, D.L. and A. Sørensen. 1983. "Societal Transformation in Norway and Change in the Life Course Transition Into Adulthood." Acta Sociologica 26: 105-126.

12.

Hagestad, G.O. and B.L. Neugarten. 1984. "Age and the life course." Pp. 35-61 in Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences (2nd ed.), edited by R. Binstock and E. Shanas. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

13.

Hogan, D.P. 1978. "The Variable Order of Events In the Life Course ." American Sociological Review 43: 573-586.

14.

___. 1980. "The Transition To Adulthood As A Career Contingency ." American Sociological Review 45:261-276.

15.

___. 1981. Transitions and Social Change: The Early Lives of American Men. New York: Academic.

16.

___. 1984. "The Demography of Life-Span Transitions: Temporal and Gender Comparisons" Pp. 65-78 in Gender and the Life Course, edited by A.S. Rossi. New York : Aldine.

17.

Kertzer, D.I. and D.P. Hogan. 1988. "Family Structure and Societal Change."In Social Structures and Human Lives, Volume 1, edited by M.W. Riley. Beverly Hills: Sage , in press.

18.

Marini, M.M. 1984. "Age and Sequencing Norms in the Transition to Adulthood ." Social Forces 63:229-244.

19.

Meguro, Y. 1983. "The Role of Women in Japanese Society." In JJ. Cagan and D.O. Schneider (Eds.), Perspectives on Japan: A Guide for Teachers. National Council for Social Studies Bulletin No. 69.

20.

___. 1985. "Effects of World War II Experiences on Men's Lives." Pp. 108-129 in Family and Life Course of Middle-Aged Men, edited by K. Morioka. Tokyo: The Family and Life Course Study Group.

21.

Meyer, J.W. 1988. "Levels of Analysis: The Life Course As an Institutional Construction." In M.W. Riley (Ed.), Social Structures and Human Lives, Volume 1. Beverly Hills: Sage, in press.

22.

Mochizuki, T. , S. Fuzimi , R. Sashida , N. Shimanouchi , and K. Kitamura. 1984. "Transition to Adulthood in the Life Course of Middle-Aged Men" Paper presented at the conference on Family and the Life Course in Japan and the Unted States, Honolulu. Pp. 24-57 in Family and Life Course of Middle-Aged Men , edited by K. Morioka. Tokyo: The Family and Life Course Study Group, 1985.

23.

Modell, J. 1980. "Normative Aspects of American Marriage Timing Since World War II." Journal of Family History 5:210-234.

24.

Modell, J. , F.F. Furstenberg , and T. Herschberg. 1976. "Social Change and Transitions to Adulthood in Comparative Perspective." Journal of Family History 1:7-32.

25.

Morgan, S. Philip , K. Hirosima. 1983. "The Persistence of Extended Family Residence in Japan: Anachronism or Alternative Strategy?" American Sociological Review 48:269-281.

26.

Morgan, S.P. , R.R. Rindfuss , and A. Parnell. 1984. "Modern Fertility Patterns: Contrasts Between the United States and Japan." Population and Development Review 10:19-40.

27.

Morioka, K. , ed. 1985. Family and Life Course of Middle-Aged Men. Tokyo: The Family and Life Course Study Group.

28.

___. 1987. "A Japanese Perspective On the Life Course: Emerging and Diminishing Patterns." Journal of Family History 12:243-260.

29.

Murakami, Y. 1984. " "le Society As a Pattern of Civilization." The Journal of Japanese Studies 10:281-363.

30.

Neugarten, B.L. , J.W. Moore , and J.C. Lowe. 1965. "Age Norms, Age Constraints, and Adult Socialization." American Journal of Sociology 70:710-717.

31.

Oppenheimer, V.K. 1982. Work and the Family: A Study in Social Demography . New York: Academic Press.

32.

Riley, M.W. 1984. "Age Strata In Social Systems." Pp. 369-411 in Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences (Vol. 2), edited by R.H. Binstock and E. Shanas. Princeton: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

33.

Riley, M.W. , M. Johnson , and A. Foner. 1972. Aging and Society (Vol. 3): A Sociology of Age Stratification. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

34.

Spanier, G.B. and P.C. Glick. 1980. "The Life Cycle of American Families: An Expanded Analysis." Journal of Family History 5:97-111.

35.

Suzuki, T. n.d. Tables on the Japanese Life Course, The Family and Life Course Study Group, Tokyo.

36.

Uhlenberg, P. 1978. "Changing Configurations of the Life Course." Pp. 65-97 in Transitions: The Family and the Life Course in Historical Perspective , edited by T.K. Hareven. New York: Academic Press.

37.

Winsborough, H.H. 1978. "Statistical Histories of the Life Cycle of Birth Cohorts: The Transition From Schoolboy to Adult male." Pp. 231-259 in Social Demography , edited by K.E. Taeuber , L.L. Bumpass , and J.A. Sweet. New York: Academic Press.