An Update on the Relevance of the Life Course Perspective for Social Work

Abstract

In recent years, the life course perspective has received increasing support from researchers across a number of behavioral science disciplines. The purpose of this article is to examine the relevance to social work of selected findings of the last 15 years of empirical investigation of life course concepts and themes. This discussion is organized around five basic concepts (cohorts, transitions, trajectories, life events, and turning points) and six interrelated themes (interplay of human lives and historical time, timing of lives, linked or interdependent lives, human agency in making choices, diversity in life course trajectories, and developmental risk and protection). Implications of life course theory and research for social work are overviewed.

Turning points toward drug addiction recovery: contextualizing underlying dynamics of change

“…Its relational nature encompasses the idea that recovery is shaped within everyday realities and interactions that are impacted by social and structural factors (Price-Robertson et al 2017). This process of change is marked by turning points that can add twists and turns to individuals' addiction recovery trajectories, informed by a life course model (Hser et al 2007;Teruya and Hser 2010;Hutchison 2019). In line with the desistance literature (e.g.…”

“…The notion of interdependency is central to life course research, incorporating the diversity of substance use patterns and the embeddedness of persons in their social and structural environments. As such, it is emphasized that contextual dynamics shape change processes (Hser et al 2007;Hutchison 2019), in line with a relational approach to addiction recovery. Academic research has recently engaged with identifying turning points (e.g.…”

Expectativas sobre la transición desde la educación básica a la educación media de estudiantes de contextos de vulnerabilidad social

“…Es posible comprender estos procesos desde la perspectiva de las trayectorias vitales o enfoque del curso de vida (Blanco, 2011). Desde este enfoque, la trayectoria vital se entiende como la yuxtaposición de factores biológicos, psicológicos, sociales y culturales que actúan de forma interdependiente, interactiva y acumulativa (Hutchison, 2019). Estas numerosas interacciones implican, a su vez, múltiples posibles caminos recorridos por los sujetos.…”

“…Estas numerosas interacciones implican, a su vez, múltiples posibles caminos recorridos por los sujetos. Este enfoque pone hincapié en cómo la trayectoria vital de un individuo constituye una unidad en la cual lo ocurrido en un periodo de experiencia será determinante para la trayectoria posterior (Hutchison, 2019).…”

La investigación sobre trayectorias educativas

“…Se quiere destacar las investigaciones realizadas por Morentin y Ballesteros (2018, 2019, las cuales presentan una singularidad con respecto a las otras, aun poniendo el foco en el mismo problema educativo. Los dos textos de estos autores tratan de comprender el proceso de abandono a través de trayectorias de vida, al igual que los anteriores.…”