The Linked Lives Principle in Life Course Studies: Classic Approaches and Contemporary Advances

Abstract

Social relationships are essential to our emotional, social, physical, and economic well-being at every stage of the life course (House et al. 1988). National surveys consistently show that more than 95 percent of persons in the United States rate their families as “very” or “extremely” important to them, and more than three-quarters rate their friendships as such (Moore 2003). Yet even our most personal and intimate relationships are powerfully shaped by social structures, including historical and cultural contexts, and the social institutions in which we are embedded. That social contexts shape human relationships is a core theme of sociological perspectives on the life course (Elder 1994, 2000). This framework rests on four foundational concepts: historical context; personal timing; agency versus structure; and social relationships (i.e., linked lives). The latter theme is essential to the study of contemporary research on social networks, which uses state of the art methods to understand the complex role that social ties play in shaping attitudes, behaviors, health, and well-being over the life course.