Takes stock of a fast-growing, complex and multidisciplinary field

Michael J. Shanahan is Professor of Sociology and Faculty Fellow at the Carolina Population Center and at the Center for Developmental Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is interested in individual differences in the life course, a theme that he has studied with reference to genetics, health, and personality. Recent articles appear in Social Forces, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, and Social Science and Medicine. His current research examines associations between social circumstances and gene transcription both early and later in the life course.

Jeylan T. Mortimer is Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of the Life Course Center, University of Minnesota, and Principal Investigator of the longitudinal, three generation Youth Development Study. Her interests span the areas of work and socioeconomic attainment, the life course, youth and transition to adulthood.  H

er recent articles appear in Social Psychology Quarterly, Social Forces, the Journal of Research on Adolescence, the Journal of Marriage and Family, Developmental Psychology, the Journal of Vocational Behavior, Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, and Demography.  Her current research examines intergenerational change and transmission of achievement orientations, the impacts of prior parental experiences and trajectories on their adolescent children, and the sources of resilience in the transition to adulthood.  Professor Mortimer is Chair of the Section on Aging and the Life Course in the American Sociological Association.  She previously served as Chair of the ASA Sections on Children and Youth, and Social Psychology.

Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson is Professor of Sociology and Honors College Distinguished Professor at Washington State University.  Her r

esearch interests are in the areas of work, family, and education across the life course, with particular focus on well-being and achievement in adolescence and the transition to adulthood. Her recent research has appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Social Science Research, Journal of Marriage and Family, Social Forces and Social Psychology Quarterly.  Her current research focuses on families’ and young people’s adaptations to the changing nature of the transition to adulthood, including familial financial support in young adulthood and its implications for attainment and well-being; change in educational and work ambitions tied to changing personal and historical circumstances; and the interplay of stratification and the development of social psychological resources in promoting well-being and attainment.