Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2009, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (2): 112-130.

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Cumulative Heterogeneity:Differentiation of Older Adults from the LifeCourse Perspective

 HU Wei   

  • Online:2009-03-20 Published:2009-03-20

Abstract:

Taking the lifecourse perspective, the author conducted indepth interviews of older adults to gather their past life information from their narratives. This paper attempts to analyze the interweaving of the individual’s life course and societal changes with an emphasis on the individual’s agency and the temporality of the life course, as well as the internal mechanisms for the constant differentiation in this process. This study has shown that aging is a process of continuous accumulation and differentiation along the dimension of time. The order of the factors for accumulation has a very important impact on the differentiation among the individuals. Accumulation is a product of the lifecourse capital interacting with the lifecourse risks, and it is a dynamic process of the individual’s agency interacting with social structures. Changes of social policies have a decisive impact on the cumulative process. 

Key words:  cumulative advantage/disadvantage, life course, lifecourse capital, lifecourse risk, life event