Life Course Studies Program
Welcome!
The program of life course studies at the Carolina Population Center is directed by Glen H. Elder. This website is designed to acquaint you with his life course research currently being conducted at the Population Center.
Life course theory emerged in the 1960s out of the need to understand human development as occurring across the life span. Elder has been a pioneer in this field which emphasizes how individual lives are socially patterned over time, and the processes by which lives are changed by changing environments.
Most of the information at this website is organized according to the data archive on which the research is based. There are five such archives described herein:
- The Oakland Growth and Berkeley Guidance Studies
of the Institute for Human Development, University of California,
Berkeley
- The Lewis Terman Study at
Stanford University
- The Iowa Youth and
Families Project
- The Philadelphia
Inner-City Project
- The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
For a more general overview of Elder's research program, consult the following document:
For a list of essential books and articles on the life course, consult the reading list.
