THE SIGNIFICANT TRANSITIONS AND SITUATIONS OF THE LIFETIME OF COUPLES AND FAMILIES

Liina Animägi

Outline of a lecture• Life course approach• Pregnancy and birth• Childhood• Youth• Mothering/parenting• Marital breakdown• Old age and death

Life course approach• Biological processes: birth, growing and ageing• Social processes: socialization, education, expectations of

others, norms and traditions in society• Life course as model of changes in persons life. • Erikson’s model (1963): childhood, work, marriage,

retirement, old age. First of it’s kind. Later models include more stages.

• Stage of life characterized by crisis. • Transitions between stages as rites of passage.

Life course approach• Age as one determinant of stage

• Expectations of society on age-groups. • How person himself/herself defines his/her age?

• Conflict of generations• Age structure of society

Pregnancy and birth• Historically pregnancy and birth are uncertain and risky. In

modern societies infant and maternal mortality are low.• Social sciences talk about the control of reproductivity.

Health care workers are providers of that societal control.• Control using relationships with health-care workers and

technology.• Laws connecting prenatal care with subsidies.

Pregnancy and birth• Also, feeling of control as something parents-to-be expect

using technologies. • Medicalization of pregnancy and birth makes woman

patient, pregnancy illness and downplays social and emotional aspects of pregnancy.

• Use of contraceptives as a mean of control.

• Expectations regarding pregnancy and birth

Childhood• Society and structure of families influences childhood.• What does a child mean for a family?

• It can be a resource and also burden. Emotionally and economically.• 10-19 century children were viewed as small adults, invisible.

Expected to work soon after infancy. • First signs of concept of childhood can be seen 17th century

(Aries,1965).• Welfare of children as a problem also by the end of 19th century.

• What do we expect children to be?• Example of research: How parent perceive 6- month old babies

(Goldberg & Lewis, 1972). Parents expect girls to be quiet, clean and restrained, boys a noisy and adventurous.

• These expectations are self-fulfilling. Parent reward behaviours according to their expectations.

Childhood• Christian undrestanding – child is a savage and must be

saved by religion. • Rousseau – Childhood as time of innocene. Newborn

child as innocent and state of nature. Society corrupts child as it grows. • Childhood is something „natural“, and that can be positive or

negative.

Childhood• Development of education systems and welfare created

distinct conception of childhood. • How we define childhood?

• Legal aspects• Parenting literature• Medical aspects• Media and advertising

• How children experience childhood?

Youth• Youth as a modern invention.

• How is youth defined? Who is „youth“?• Youth as a period of trouble and self-discovery• What causes trouble?• Why is self-discovery so important?

• Subcultures of youth• Sexuality• Transition from education to work (expansion of education)

Paretning/mothering• 19. century, parenting was part of every lifecycle, due to

the family structure.• In industrial societies there is “best” age to be parent.

• Examples of changing expectations. • What defines the right time to become a parent?

Parenting/mothering• What do parents have to do? What does it mean to be a

good parent?• Conflict of expectations, different understandings of

parenting and mothering.• Expectations of health-care workers• Expectations of relatives and friends• Expectations of spouse and myself.

• Different understandings/styles of parenting:• Biomedical• Educational• Spiritual, emotional

Parenting/mothering• Examples of parenting ideologies

• John Watson (American psychologist, behaviorism) Psychological Care of Infant and Child ,1928.• Watson’s psychology was influential on the first half of 20th century. • Children needed strict discipline: rigid sleep patterns, feeding and toilet schedules.

Discipline helps to build up a character. • Mothers need to be emotionally detached from their infants.

• Benjamin Spock 1950s. • Mothers should feed babies on demand, provide affection and attention. • Mothers should follow their own instincts. More permissive ideology of parenting.

• These different understandings of parenting are being influenced by prevalent ideologies in society.

• Today’s parenting styles? • Key questions regarding being a good mother?

Parenting/mothering• Fatherhood

• What does a good father do?

• We can see changes in expectations towards fathers.• 1930s-1970s „Absent father“. WWII, breadwinning.• 1980-s role of father at home increased. Equality of opportunity,

egalitarian approach to parenting.

• Legal approaches to fatherhood:• Parental leave policies around the world.

• Fathers after divorce and separation?

Marital breakdown• How can marriage or cohabitation end?

• Divorce• Separation• Cohabitaton „for the sake of children“

• What are determinants influencing marital breakdown?• Secularization of marriage, marriage as nonreligious, practical

commitment. • Legal ease.• Longer life expectancy (divorce instead of a death of a spouse). • Individualism (choice and control over their lives), personal

happiness.• Women’s participation of labour force, economic independence.

Old age and death• Ageing as biological process. What happens to the body?

• Ageing as a social process? • What changes in persons behaviour?• How persons roles change?• How old is „old“?• How society perceives old age?

• Ageing populations as a societal problem?• Workforce, welfare.

Old age and death• Retirement

• Function of retirement• Experience of retirement

• Fragmentation of retirement in modern societies.• Changing self of a retired person

Old age and death• Death

• Perception of death in societies

• How societies deal with death?• How individuals deal with death?

• Fear of death• Mourning, expressions of mourning.

Summary• Life course approach can be valuable way of analyzing

and understanding human life in societies.

• Significant events of life are influenced by societal expectations.