Social Inequality, Life Course Transitions, and Adolescent Development: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

Conceptualizing adolescent development within a life course framework that links the perspectives on social inequality and early life course transitions has largely been absent from previous research. Such a conceptual model is needed, however, in order to understand how the individual development of agentic capacities and the opportunities and constraints inherent in the social contexts of growing up interact and jointly affect young people's trajectories across the adolescent life stage. We present the corner stones of the conceptual "trident" of social inequality, life course transitions, and adolescent development and identify three major themes the eleven contributions to this special issue address within this conceptual framework: social and individual prerequisites and consequences of coping with life course transitions; intergenerational transmission belts of social inequality; socialization of agency in and outside the family home. These three themes exemplify the great analytical potential inherent in this framework.

Developmental Pathways from Parental Socioeconomic Status to Adolescent Substance Use: Alternative and Complementary Reinforcement

“…More importantly, much less research has investigated potential mechanisms explaining the linkage of focus (Hardaway and Cornelius 2014; Pampel et al 2010), leaving concrete and malleable prevention targets that could break the link between parental socioeconomic status and youth substance use unidentified. This represents an important missed opportunity to interrupt the process leading to disproportionate concentration of substance use among adolescents with lower socioeconomic status earlier in life, before they persist or widen over the life course (Buchmann and Steinhoff 2017; Lee et al 2017).…”

“…Because substance use has been widely understood as an inherently developmental phenomenon (Zucker 2008) and the negative impact of earlier socioeconomic status on various health measures is known to either persist or possibly widen across the life course (Buchmann and Steinhoff 2017; Lee et al 2017), it is critical to understand how alternative reinforcement, complementary reinforcement, and substance use gradually unfold and intersect with one another over time. The developmental cascade model (Cicchetti and Lynch 1993; Masten et al 2005) posits that a potent risk factor in the childhood environment, such as low socioeconomic status (Freese and Lutfey 2011; Link and Phelan 1995), can significantly disrupt a child’s initial adaptation and competencies, which may result in the progression of maladaptive behaviors and collateral compromise in other developmental systems during subsequent developmental periods in an reciprocal or cascading manner.…”

Developmental Associations Between Sympathy and Mutual Disclosure in Friendships From Mid‐Adolescence to Early Adulthood

“…Adolescence is an important period for socioemotional development and is characterized by biological maturation, changes in social relationships, and exposure to new social contexts (Lerner & Steinberg, 2009). Psychological development (e.g., identity formation) and social transitions (e.g., school transitions, entry into the labor market) impact the social contexts in which adolescents interact with others and also how they interact (Buchmann & Steinhoff, 2017; Lerner & Steinberg, 2009). Adolescents are expected to become increasingly independent from their families and to form closer relationships with their peers (Meeus, 2016).…”

Pathways From Childhood Sociomoral Sensitivity in Friendship, Insecurity, and Peer Rejection to Adult Friendship Quality

“…Second, we explore the significance of adolescent socio‐moral sensitivity for friendship intimacy in emerging adulthood, considering links between social‐cognitive and socioemotional development and friendship experiences (e.g., Bukowski & Sippola, 1996; Rubin, Wojslawowicz, Rose‐Krasnor, Booth‐LaForce, & Burgess, 2006). As a complementary framework, we consider how major life course transitions shape young people’s development (Buchmann & Steinhoff, 2017). Third, we explore distal effects of early adult friendship intimacy on mid‐adult friendship satisfaction, considering the role of intimacy for satisfaction in symmetrical relationships, including friendship (Finkenauer, Engels, Branje, & Meeus, 2004; Sanderson, Rahm, & Beigbeder, 2005), and age‐graded social support networks.…”