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Transition into Adulthood, Life Course, Inequalities and Social Change

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Welfare State at Risk

Abstract

The article tracks the existing body of research on transition into adulthood as a life stage key for attaining socio-economic position. It begins with a brief introduction into theoretical foundations of life course approach with the focus on the concept of institutionalized life course and the debate on deconstruction of normal biography. The core part of the text is divided into three subchapters focused on different aspects of intersection of life course and inequality. Firstly, so far the analyses of patterns of transitions into adulthood across Europe have been focusing mostly on various mechanisms of social reproduction, mainly within disadvantaged segments of the social structure, whereas transitions leading to changes still remain understudied. Secondly, the comparative studies on life course policies seem to confirm that the construction of patterns of transition into adulthood through public policies reflects principles behind country-specific social policy regimes, even if observable trends towards welfare state retrenchment fuelled by neoliberal rhetoric could be seen as crucial for reinforcing existing inequalities among young adults across Europe. The summary indicates gaps in knowledge about the intersection of life course, inequality and public policy which deserve a deeper empirical insight.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This claim has been supported by in-depth biographical studies on the experience of class (see also: Bertaux 1993; Bertaux-Wiame 1993; Sennett and Cobb 1993).

  2. 2.

    There were also notable examples before the credit crunch in 2008, such as in 2006 in France.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Łódź, Lodz, Poland

    Magdalena Rek-Woźniak

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  1. Magdalena Rek-Woźniak
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Correspondence to Magdalena Rek-Woźniak .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. FB 03, Universität Gießen Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Gießen, Germany

    Dieter Eißel

  2. University of Lodz Institute of Sociology, Lodz, Poland

    Ewa Rokicka

  3. and IR, Loughborough University Department of Politics, History, Loughborough, United Kingdom

    Jeremy Leaman

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Rek-Woźniak, M. (2014). Transition into Adulthood, Life Course, Inequalities and Social Change. In: Eißel, D., Rokicka, E., Leaman, J. (eds) Welfare State at Risk. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01481-4_8

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