SkolnickÆs (1991) The Life Course Revolution discusses a number of ways in which social and cultural changes have evolved notions of the lifecycle at each of its stages from infancy and childhood to adulthood and old age. The author provides a number of factors that have evolved such notions, such as the extended lifespan of the elderly due to new medicines and medical technologies or the social institutions that arose to help youth in adolescence deal with the ôstorm and stressö of this developmental phase (Skolnick, 1991, p. 28). Ironically, such institutions only reinforced notions of this transition phase as ôproblematic and risky,ö (Skolnick, 1991, p. 28). Changes in notions of lifecycle phases have been so dramatic that many people find themselves in a life stage where there is no ôcultural scriptö to guide us (Skolnick, 1991, p. 28).
Hernandez and MyersÆ (1993) Revolutions in ChildrenÆs Lives provides an account of the change from the conventional family and household to contemporary family constellations which are radically different. From higher divorce rates to more single women deciding to have children without being married, many children live in one-parent families. The authors maintain that in the long-term, children who do not spend most of their formative years in a stable two-parent family tend to ôàcomplete fewer years of schooling, enter lower-status occupations, and earn lower incomesö than their two-parent peers (Hernandez, & Myers, 1993, p. 290). In the period from 1940 to 1960, a majority of children did not live in a family constellation that conformed to mid-twentieth century ideals.
In Mary PiconeÆs (1998) article on infanticide and motherhood in Japan, the author demonstrates how culture, from politics and economics to superstition and religious beliefs help forge notions of motherhood and attitudes toward abortion or infanticide. These forces are often powerful and serve to undermin...