Perceptions of the Adult Life Course

A Cross-cultural Analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID11199166
AuthorsCharlotte Ikels (Case Western Reserve University), Jennie Keith (Case Western Reserve University), Jeanette Dickerson-Putman (Case Western Reserve University), Patricia Draper (Case Western Reserve University), Christine L Fry (Case Western Reserve University), Christine Fry (0000-0001-7867-4388), Anthony P Glascock (Case Western Reserve University), Anthony Glascock, Henry Harpending (Case Western Reserve University)
Year1992
Volume12
Issue1
Pages49-84
Publication date1992-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x00004669
OpenAlexW2167363369
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited31

A team of seven anthropologists conducted a coordinated, cross- cultural investigation to examine how structural and cultural variables shape the strategies people employ to assure themselves a secure old age. Central to the investigation was the goal of determining how people in the societies involved (Hong Kong, the United States, Ireland, and Botswana) perceive old age and its place in the adult life course, e.g. whether they view old age as an improvement or a decrement compared with other stages of life and the characteristics on which they base their views. The seven sites were selected to ensure broad representation in terms of the key structural variables of scale, complexity, subsistence pattern, residential mobility, and population structure. Both across and within sites people differed in their willingness and ability to discuss the concept of the life course. We attribute this variation to five factors: (i) characteristics of the social field, (2) education, (3) cultural salience of age categorisation, (4) predictability of life events, and (5) variability in timing of normative social or work roles

Cognitive psychology · Cross-cultural · Developmental psychology · Life course approach · Normative · Perception · Political science · Predictability · Salience (neuroscience) · Sociology · Aging and Gerontology Research · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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